Jesus Christ's finished work on the cross is the central theme, emphasizing his ascension and seating at the right hand of God as proof of his completed atonement. The sermon recounts The passage's personal conversion experience in 1930, detailing his discovery of salvation through Colossians 2:14, where Christ's sacrifice is understood as the removal of the 'handwriting against us.' It contrasts the Old Testament's temporary sacrifices with Christ's one-time, perfect offering that purges the conscience, highlighting Jesus as the ultimate High Priest who sits in a place of dignity, power, and affection. The message concludes by urging listeners to accept this complete salvation and live a victorious life through Christ, who is forever available as mediator.
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for and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. Our brother Adley Pam Finus. Thank you, brother. And friends, I'm delighted to be again with you. But after I heard what I heard, I'd like to ask, can you all see me? All right. Thank you. Well, I've been asked yesterday if I would say a word about how I came to know Jesus Christ as my Savior. So, by your permission, I might just take one or two minutes now to tell you how I came to know Jesus Christ as my Savior.
That's ancient history as far as I'm concerned, because it happened in nineteen thirty. I'm not going to tell you how old I was. But I want to promise for me we don't add or subtract. I was just out of high school then. about eighteen and a half years old. All right. However, I had not heard anything about salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Matter of fact, I know that there were only two churches building in my hometown. It was about seventy miles south west of Cairo, Egypt. One of the two churches was a ritualistic church.
They chanted the Mass. And that was all. They did not preach salvation through Christ. The second church was a Protestant church. They didn't believe, they didn't preach salvation through Christ at all either. They preached a good sermon. So nobody told me about Christ and the way of salvation. But I must say that for several months before I had been under conviction, I knew what a sort of life I was leading. And I knew I lacked something, but I didn't know what I, what I lacked. There was a void in my heart. Something that I could not understand was that I was missing.
In September, nineteen thirty, I can remember the place very well. I closed my eyes and pictured myself in that place. I was on my own in my room. I don't remember the exact day, but I know the month and the year, September nineteen thirty. I opened the Bible, Arabic Bible, just at random. The Bible was brought into my hometown by American missionary. I know the place very well. I didn't choose it. God did. It was Colossians chapter two. And I started to read. I didn't understand much of what I read. It was all great to me. Until I came to verse fourteen.
And I stopped. Verse fourteen tells me that Christ, when he died on the cross, took away the handwriting which was against me and nailed it to his cross. I know now what it means. It refers to the law because Christ was made a curse for me, that I might become the righteousness of God in him. He took away the law, the ordinances against me. But at that time I took it literally. The Arabic word for handwriting is suck. S-A-K or S-A-Q. Sut, which means a promise story note. If you are in debt to someone and you sign your name to this effect, you are in debt to him, this is a promise story note, this is a word I'm writing in Arabic.
And I took it literally. I said, I was not in debt to anybody. Was I in debt to... What was that debt from which Christ freed me by his death upon the cross? To make a long story short. after some meditation and thought, an idea flashed into my head. Could it be that the death from which Christ freed me by his death upon the cross was my sin, which I sinned against God, and Christ took away those sins and nailed him to the cross with him? And friends, just at that very thought I burst into tears.
the only sinless one took away my sins and nailed him to his cross when he died upon the cross I cried and I asked the Lord to save my soul and this poor man cried and the Lord heard him I know beyond the shadow of a doubt I was made a new creation in Christ and I cannot tell you the joy that really flooded my soul I didn't understand much But that was as simple as that. And I started to read the Bible. And the more I read, the more I became convinced that what took place was real salvation, new birth. I wanted to make sure.
And went to the priest of the ritualistic church. And I asked him, told him what happened to me. He very gravely shook his head. And said, that was hers. The only way for you to come to a saving knowledge of God is through the church, he said. Well, I got no comfort from him. I went to the other pastor, the pastor of the Protestant church, and told him what happened to me. Oh, he took pity on me. He said, that was apostasy. So I was a heretic and an apostle. But let me say something. I had not gone to college yet.
College started in October in our country. And I was on vacation. I had all the time in my hand to read. And the more I read, the more I became convinced it was God's Word. And I praised the Lord. I didn't have money to buy commentaries at that time, but I had the Bible, the Arabic Bible. I would spend sometimes as much as ten hours a day, ten hours a day reading God's Word. And let me say something to you, friend. The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible itself. The word of God. Read it. Read it. Dig into it. The word of God. And I praise God this poor man cried.
And the Lord heard him. So I'm not going to take any more time to tell you what happened. I didn't find things easy with my family. We are five brothers, two sisters, three sisters, and a father and a mother. It was not easy with me. So I began to pray for them. The Lord gave me one sister. She and I were tremendous help the one to the other. And by prayer and waiting on the Lord, they all came to the Lord one by one. One by one. Praise the Lord. The rest of my brothers and sisters are very active in the Lord's work today. The last who comes to the Lord was my dad. He passed away in a most marvelous way. He was singing in Arabic hymn, which is a literal translation of the English hymn, Jesus, lover of my soul.
Let me to thy bosom fly, period. Period. How's that? Let me to thy bosom fly. I got the news. I was in Cairo. He was in Fayum. I got the news. Naturally, I was sad that my father went, but I was glad he went that way. Absent from the body, present with the Lord. That he is in glory now. Friends, Jesus Christ is the only Savior. By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves is the gift of God, not of worship any man should boast. Please stand with me to mark this scene. Verse nineteen.
So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. Yesterday our thoughts were turned on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not here. He is risen. Why seek ye the dead among the alive, the risen among the dead? He is not here. He is risen. We serve a living Savior. We have a risen Christ, a Savior that is alive forevermore. And praise the Lord for that. In the Middle East, It's our custom that when the servant has finished all his work, he sits down.
He cannot sit down until he has finished all his work. Mark is the gospel of the servant, and he expresses this thought very well in verse nineteen. After he had spoken these things, after he had finished the work, He ascended into heaven, was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. Jesus Christ sat on the right hand of God, and he did not sit on the right hand of God until he uttered that great cry, victorious cry on the cross. It is finished.
It is finished. The work was finished. He laid down his life to death, even the death of the cross for you and for me. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews took up this book and expressed it in a number of places. And I want you please to turn with me to the Epistle to the Hebrews to these places because I believe that each place of them has a message for us. Please turn with me to the first chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. That's Hebrews chapter one. God, who at sundry times, and in diverse manners, spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these days, last days, spoken unto us by his Son, whom he had appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world, who, being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his powers, when
he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high, there we see him, the purger of our sins, sat on the right hand of the majesty on high. Praise God that Jesus Christ is the one who purged away my sins. He sat down. You will notice, please, that in the tabernacle of old there was no chair at all. No seat. No seat in the tabernacle. Why? Because the work of the priest was never finished.
It was a continuous work. But here we see that Jesus Christ sat on the right hand of God on high. Why? because he has completed the work. Praise God, I invite you today to a complete work that was done and completed on the cross of Calvary. All the sacrifices of the Old Testament, all the millions of sacrifices were offered for sinners in the Old Testament, could not do one thing which the blood of Jesus Christ did. Turn with me please to Hebrews chapter nine. Hebrews chapter nine. Verse thirteen, please.
For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit, offered himself without thought to God. Purge your conscience from dead work to serve the living God. The blood of all the sacrifices of the Old Testament served only as a covering, the purifying of the flesh. But the blood of Jesus Christ, my Lord, purges my conscience.
Purges my conscience. I have no guilty conscience as I stand before God now because I know Christ died for me. What a vast difference between the two. The purging of the body, the purifying of the body, and the purging of the conscience. Remind me of the story that I always tell of a man who stole a watch and was brought before the judge. But he had a smart lawyer. And the lawyer succeeded in creating doubt in the mind of the court. So at the end, the verdict was given. The culprit was not educated at all, and he heard the verdict. The case was dismissed because of insufficient evidence.
He couldn't understand that. So he turned to the judge in all simplicity and said, Your Honor, does this mean I have to return the watch? You see, the court pronounced him innocent. But his conscience blamed him all the time. He had a guilty conscience. The court said innocent, not guilty, not guilty. But the conscience said, rubber, thieves. So it is. The great vast difference between the sacrifice of the Old Testament and the blood of Christ. You are not redeemed with silver and gold things that perish from your old way of life.
but by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, my Lord. See the comparison, please. Blood is a highly perishable matter, but gold is not perishable. And yet the Apostle says, you are not redeemed with perishable things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. Praise the Lord for the precious blood of Jesus Christ. To you, my friend today, to you, my friend today, who does not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, I am offering you a complete, perfect salvation in Jesus Christ, my Lord.
Where will you spend the eternity? Wake up, my friend, if you have not accepted Christ as your Savior. Where will you spend the eternity? I spoke to the young people last night and told them how long the eternity is. Someone has said, if every grain of sand in the deserts of the world and on the seashores of the world, if every grain of sand represented one billion years, and if every drop of water in the ocean and the seas and the rivers and the lakes of the world represented one billion years, and if every green blade of gas in the world represented one billion years, if all these billions were taken away from eternity, the eternity would not have lost anything.
Where will you spend eternity? How long is your life here on earth? Let me say something, friend. If you are young or not so young, after one hundred years of the very most of the Lord Terry, none of us will be on this world. Right? What's a hundred years? Compared to eternity. Christ died for you. Christ shed his blood for you that you might have eternal life. And now... completed the work and is set at the right hand of the majesty on high. This place at the right hand of God is a place of dignity.
Turn with me please to Philippians chapter two, a very well-known passage. Philippians chapter two, we're going to read just a few verses there. Right hand of God, the place of dignity. Verse five, please. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is more to the glory of God the Father.
Praise God, the place of dignity. He humbled himself. He made himself of nourishment, emptied himself, not of his deity for a minute, for a glance, for a second. He is God, was God, his God will always be God. He is the God incarnate. But he humbled himself of his glory for you to become the children of God. Friend, we praise God for his place of dignity that Jesus Christ is set on now. He is set on the right hand of the Majesty and I. Also this place is a place of power. We read in Acts chapter three of Peter and John entering into the temple for prayer, and they say an impotent man there, sitting, and they watch them, asking for arms.
And Peter says to him, silver and gold, have I none, but such as I have, give I unto you, in the name of Jesus Christ, arise and walk. The power in that name, and you and I have experienced this power, Immediately this man stood up. He received power. He stood up and he walked and leaped, praising God. Yes, in the place of power. All power is given unto me, in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and pray the gospel. Friend, have you experienced this power in your life? Are you living a life of victory? This is your portion in Christ.
There is no excuse for any Christian. who's living a defeated life. Yours is a life of victory because all power is given unto me, Jesus said. What is your trouble today? Are you weary and heavy laden? Tumbered with a load of fear? Precious Savior is still our refuge. Take it to the Lord in prayer and you will experience the power of God. Oh, I'm sure you have many, many infants where you came to the Lord in times of weakness, in times of difficulty, and you receive power because He is a risen Savior. He is alive today.
Praise God. He is seated in the place of power. I told the people in Mishar Conference last summer about an experience with us in the assembly in Cairo, Egypt. I will beg your pardon if I repeat it. We had many incidents, of course, but this stands very vividly in my mind. We own the assembly in Beirut, Lebanon, belongs to the assembly. But the assembly in Cairo, Egypt is rent. The landlord is a Muslim landlord. And all his interest is to come at the beginning of the month to collect the rent. We pay the rent monthly in Cairo, Egypt. And all these years since nineteen thirty, the Lord has not failed us at all.
He will never do. One month very particularly, We didn't have the rent. And of course, we started to pray. We tell nobody at all of any financial need. But we tell our Heavenly Father. We prayed. Fifteenth of the month, nothing came. Sixteen, seventeen, twenty-fifth, twenty-six, thirty. Nothing came. He didn't know what to do. To be sure at nine o'clock, at the first of the month, always, always without fail, I would hear a rat attack at the door. And I go to open the door, it would be the landlord. At thirty-fifth. The thirty-first, no money. What should I say? The first of the month, at a quarter to nine, if you please, not nine o'clock, I heard a racket at the door.
I said, bless his business. He always comes at a nine o'clock this time, he comes at a quarter to nine, when there was no money. What should I do? I went with heavy steps. Open the doors. It was not the landlord. It was an official from the government who delivered to me a green paper which read something like this. The landlord is behind with his taxes. Please don't pay him the rent. But be gracious enough to wait until we send our representatives.
And I'm sure I was gracious enough to wait. All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth. Why do you put a long face, brother? Why are you so sad? Why are you not joyful? You know, I always divide Christians into two pledges. A six o'clock Christian with a long face. And a quarter to three, Christian. Happy Christmas. Why? You have no reason to be sad. You have no reason to be harassed. You have no reason to give up.
Hours is a living Savior in the place of power. He sat at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Praise God also at the place of affection. A place of affection. sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high the place of love and affection. What has that to do with me? Don't forget I am seated with Christ in the heavenly places. I am well beloved in the well beloved. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased and if I am in Christ I am also beloved. Oh what a wonderful thing it is.
Two of the most important words In all the Christian literature of these, in Christ, you are in Christ. You are dear to him. You are precious in his sight. And we praise the Lord. All things are possible with thee. All things work together for good to them that love God. You know, friends, what has happened to you is not an accident. There are no accidents. in the life of the child of God. Never. There are interests, but no actions. Because all things, all things of the church, were together for good to them that loved God.
Joseph, you are sold and betrayed by your brethren. You are in Egypt and a foreign land, away from your dad, for no... Bad thing you have done. And even you are ended now in prison. And you have been there for a number of years. All this, the Lord is preparing you for the throne of Egypt. All things. Work together for good to them that love God. Yes, we praise God. It's a place of affection. But my enemy was marched on wheels. Let me just carry on my watch, as I said, all the drums and wheels.
And we turn please to Hebrews chapter eight. The writer of the Ephesians, the Hebrews takes up another place where Christ is mentioned to have sat down on the right hand of God on high. Chapter eight and verse one. Now of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum. We have such an high priest. who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heaven, a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pits the not man.
For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices, wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat oath to us. So we have a high priest, such a high priest, that is set down on the right hand of the Majesty and I. Friends, you need a high priest. Job knew it, and he cried, Oh, for a day spring, for a mediator, to bring us together to place his hand on mine, the other hand on God's hand, and bring us together. Job, praise the Lord, the mediator is here.
The priest is here. Jesus Christ, my Lord. We need such an high priest. And we have such an high priest. Yes, we praise the Lord, we have him. And we have no other high priest. We have no other priest for Jesus Christ, my Lord. Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ, my Lord. And we praise God that he is my priest that brings the hand of God with my hand and makes peace. Mercy and truth have met together. righteousness, and things have kissed each other. Where?
At the cross of Calvary. Friend, who can enter into the depth of the meaning of what took place in Gethsemane? It will take us all eternity. Eternity will not be sufficient for us to understand the depth of the agony, of the meaning, of the thing that took place in the Garden of Gethsemane. When the Son of God... Nell to pray, Father, if it be thy will that this cup should pass from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. What cup was it? What was the cup which the Lord dreaded to drink? Certainly not the nails of the cross.
These were agony indeed, but not these cups, not the crown of fall, that crowned his holy brow. That was agony indeed also. But not the cup for which the Lord prayed. Not the spear that pierced his side. Not the railings and the markings of the people. No. All these were agony. Very much so. But not the cup. What was the cup? Separation from God. Separation from God. He who knew no sin, the only righteous one, holy, blameless, separate from sinners, higher than the heavens, was made sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God.
And as your representative and mine, on the cross of Calvary, God, as it were, hid his faith from him. He hid his faith from him. That's why he cried, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? At this very moment, at this very moment, He paid the penalty for you and for me. At this very moment, your salvation and mine was made perfect and complete. That's why immediately afterwards he cried, it is finished. It is finished. Salvation is finished. Complete. Redemption is complete. And immediately afterwards, fellowship was restored when he did the will of the Father.
And he cried, my Father, into thy hands. I commend my spirit. Friend, we have such an high priest. Jesus Christ the Lord. Jesus Christ the Lord. And he is set at the right hand of God. Are you weary? Heavy laden? He makes him sufficient for us. Cyrus had a terrific burden. One only daughter, twelve years old, at the point of death. Where should he go? He must have tried medicine. And doctor, to no avail. To no avail. Therefore he knew where to go, to the feet of Jesus Christ.
Father, Lord, Lord, help me. Help me. I'm in need. I'm in trouble. I'm in difficulty. And we praise God. Jesus turned the morning into laughter and joy. Yes, friends, come to him now, to the feet of Jesus. He is our mediator. He is the one who is not away from us. He's just one prayer away. And he's touched with the feeling of my infirmity. And he can make intercession for me. But let me hurry on to another step. Chapter ten, please.
Hebrews chapter ten. Look at verse eleven, please, of chapter ten. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering, oftentimes the same sacrifice. Please remember the word standing. Standeth. Every priest standing. He cannot sit down. The work is not finished. Every priest standeth daily ministering and offering, oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away sin. But this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sin, for ever, sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his first fool.
Praise God, for by one offering he had perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is the witness? To us. For after that he had said before, until he comes to verse twenty-two, let us grow near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our heart sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our brothers, Watch with your walk. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope. In Arabic, it is hope in the King James Version's faith. I looked at a number of translations. It's still of hope. The confession of our hope, without wavering, for he is faithful, that promise. Praise God, the perpetuity.
It is a forever sacrifice, never to be repeated, complete, sufficient, ample sacrifice. Because Jesus Christ, my Lord, is my sacrifice. He sits down at the right hand of God as the one who made the perpetual, eternal, one control sacrifice for sinners. Praise God, friend, that we have such an high priest as this. So we pray. Our loving Heavenly Father, we bow before thee now in humble adoration, in thanksgiving and praise, for Jesus Christ our Lord, our only begotten Son, who went to the cross of Calvary for us and made perfect atonement for the cry it is finished, we pray it.
And Father, we ask thee that thou speak to each one in the quietness of this hour. If there be anyone here this morning who does not know thee as Savior, speak to him or to her, Lord, we pray that today may indeed be the day of salvation and the acceptable time. And for every child of thine before thee now, thou knowest the harm. the circumstances, the difficulties, and we praise thee that thou speakest peace to thy people. For Christ is we praise. Amen.