It Is Finished

Transition out of worship → Announcements

Alright church— so excited to be here! So good to worship together!

My name is Siomara, I’m one of the leaders here at Freedom Church.

Before we move into the Word, I want to take just a couple minutes to share a few things that’ll help you stay connected here at Freedom Church.

1. TapTag

When you walked in, someone from our team may have invited you to tap or scan your phone using our TapTag. From that card you’ll find an online menu that will give you sermon and lyric notes, links to our website and important information on how you can get connected.

If you missed this you can always find it on our website, freedomchurchnyc.com

2. First-Time Guests

If you’re new here or you haven’t been in church for a while we just want you to know we’re happy you’re here! There’s nothing we want from you but we do want you to know that you being here makes a difference. When you fill out our first time guest form we donate a few meals in your honor to people in need in this city.

You’ll find this form on the online menu or on the back table outside the sanctuary doors. Even if you’re just checking this whole church thing out, your presence today is already making a difference beyond this room.

3. Bible Study

If you’re looking for some more ways to get connected with people here one of the best ways to do that is through our Bible Study. This is where we come together and share our lives with incredibly relevant material.

We’re starting this Friday night April 10th focusing on hearing God. If you have the desire to hear what God is saying, come to this! We’re going to have time together to study but there will be intentional moments for you to hear God speak. We cannot encourage you enough to come to this!!

You can find all the info right on that online menu or just ask one of our leaders!

4. Giving

Finally I just want to remind you of some of the ways you give financially to support freedom church.

Giving isn’t just financial—it’s spiritual. It’s an act of trust. It’s saying, “I believe God is at work here.”

If Freedom Church is a place you want to call home, we invite you to support this vision—to bring freedom to this city and to people around the world. What we give doesn’t just sustain a church; it helps change lives. Y on ou can give on our website or from the link you tapped on your way in.

Transition → Sermon Setup

Alright church—thank you for leaning in.

Let’s turn our attention to the Word. We believe God still speaks, still meets people right where they are, and still brings freedom. Introduction

Welcome: Good evening church! So glad to spend this first Easter at Freedom Church with you today.

Notes: All the notes for today’s message are on the tag you either tapped or scanned on the way in or you can go to freedomchurchnyc.com and find a link to the notes right on the home page in English or Spanish.

Transition: Since we started as a church we’ve been in a series focusing on the words of Jesus. These are typically the words in the Bible marked in red. It’s similar to how in an email when you want to get the point across you underline, bold, and make sure people don’t miss it! The words of Jesus are some of those words that just stick with us.

The words of Jesus we’re focusing on today are the last recorded words of Jesus before he dies on the cross. John 19:28–30 “Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”* A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

So our entire message today is focusing on these final words of Jesus as he dies on the cross. Because at this moment we see hear some of the most powerful words ever.

Tension:

Here’s why this is important to look at, Jesus says he finished everything, but when we look around it doesn’t feel like things are finished. It feels like things are unfishined.

[I should tension] If Jesus said it is finished…

I should be further along by now.

I should have things figured out by now. I should be financially stable and thriving. I should be raising a family.

I should be able to look in the mirror and love the person I see not feel like I’m looking at a dissapointment.

Cultural Messages on the topic: I mean lets be honest, if you were there that day on Easter and you saw this moment and heard these words of Jesus, we would probably just think. He’s crazy. Nothing’s finished. Even today it’s difficult to hear a message like this when it doesn’t feel like it resonates within reality.

[News] Look around, does it look like things are finished? When you watch the news it feels like nothing’s been started!

[Evolution] What is the imaginative place of arrival that we were supposed to get to?

Incorrect Church Culture Messages: Let me talk to my people who have been in church for a long time. The thought is that if we even question this statement of Jesus that we are somehow not following him and don’t love him or believe in him.

[Permission] Let me articulate something a lot of us have had feelings about— If it’s finished… why do I still feel this way? Why am I struggling? Why do things feel off and unfinished? If it’s not fully fixed… than it must not actually be finished.

Personal vulnerability

If you’re like me it makes me feel as if I did something wrong. Jesus showed up and finished a bunch of things in other people’s lives but clearly I didn’t pray the prayer right enough. I didn’t do enough. There’s something wrong that I did and I need to figure it out!

Transition: But what if we’re all just not comprehending this statement. Is it possible that we’ve misunderstood what “finished” actually means?

Let me tell you the goal of this message today. We’re going to dive into these words of Jesus on a macro sense so we understand what he did! And then we’re going to talk about how we engage this with today, in a healthy productive way.

Gospel of Topic:

Creation:

Setup: So what work did Jesus need to do? You might be familiar with this story or not. We never graduate from this story. And if you’ve never heard this story before, this is what we celebrate on Easter.

In the beginning God created everything. Perfect, good, complete. Humanity had a purpose, goals, and a relationship with God that was clear. A relationship that gave us freedom, peace, safety, security. There was no distortion, twisting, lying, nothing.

[Freewill and authority] Human beings were given authority over the earth and free will. And in their free will they believed and lie and chose to break their relationship with God and give up their authority.

Fall:

This moment is what theologians call “the fall.” Its when humanity adopted distortion into the way they saw themselves, saw each other, and saw God. This distortion hurt everything God created. There’s no absolute evil that exists, it’s just complete twisting that exists now, with authority that was transferred to a very real enemy, the devil.

This issue right here is the work that God anticipated, knew, and chose to do something about, which is why we celebrate this day.

Jesus

God’s response was multifaceted- which is typically how he does things. He wanted to redeem all of creation. He wanted to redeem the earth and planets. He wanted to redeem humanity and our relationships with one another. He wanted to redeem you in every way, bringing wholeness to every part of your life.

So he sent Jesus, one who show us a new way. His work was clear and focused, he came to give his life in EVERY way as a sacrifice and act of love.

What we remember this week is what occurred. At 33 years old Jesus was betrayed in the middle of the night but one of his closest followers, Judas. Jesus was then taken, put on trial. People lied about him. He experienced injustice at the hands of a failed legal system.He was mocked, beaten, abandoned, had a crown of thorns put on his head, was whiped 39 times with a whip because 40 was typically what killed a man, and then was forced to carry a cross, nailed his hands and feet to it, stabbed with a spear. And then he said the words we just read- It is finished.

This was sacrifice that transcends time. It was one that would provide saving power to those who had never even met him.

His body was then taken and put into a tomb for 3 days. And that is where the story stops for everyone, except Jesus. Instead when some of his followers came to see where he was buried they saw a large stone at the entry rolled aside. Something was different. That authority that we gave up, He came as a human to take back, and now that he has taken it back, things are different. He is still alive today, in that resurected body and is setting things up.

Today and Eternity:

And because he took a place that we now have the opportunity to step into something now. One day we’ll be able to step into all of in eternity. But because he finished the work and restored authority, his kingdom of heaven is starting to come here now.

Paul- one of the writers of the Bible, Paul, writes on what Jesus did as he sums up the reality of what occurred.

Ephesians 2:1–7

New American Standard Bible (1995): Paragraph Version Chapter 2

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

7. So again, we can see, work is finished, but we haven’t seen or experience all of it yet. And of anyone in the Bible who struggled with experiencing some of it but not all of it– it was Paul! This guy could empathize with us!

8. Transition so here’s what we can understand.

Main Idea:

Main Point: Jesus finished the work of redemption and now invites us to experience elements of eternity today.

Now listen, when you read through the narrative of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John there’s one piece that’s consistent: Jesus would say things and then his followers never understood what he meant! Does that give you a little peace of mind? Even the people who saw Jesus face to face were confused when he said things!

Theological: To be clear, this is not a new reality to see and understand. Theologians like Augustine and Luther all basically expressed the challenge of the living between what we see and experience now and not yet.

Today we’re going to explore that more in depth. Paul writes out more of the desire, hope and steps we get to take to better navigate this finished work of Jesus.

Main Scripture:

Context:

Let me provide more for context for Paul’s tone in the passage we just read and the one we will read.

[New Believers] Paul writes to this church in Ephesus to people who are new in choosing to follow Jesus. They are still trying to understand what all of this means. So Paul gives us grounded concepts and understanding of all the work Jesus did and finished.

[Religiously Pluralistic] They are challenged because they are in a religiously pluralistic environment- meaning that they are surrounded by loads of different religions

[Leaving old practices behind] On top of that, these people who were following Jesus were now feeling a pull back to their old way of life. They’re considering going back to some parts of spirituality.

And in chapter 3 he shares his prayer for the church and in doing so, shares wisdom and teaching about experiencing this finished work.

Ephesians 3:16–20 “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”

Point #1- We receive strength

Ephesians 3:16 “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.”

We experience his finished work as we receive strength.

Easter story: Can I remind you something about Jesus for a second- Jesus is strong. This guy is abandoned, betrayed, mocked, beaten, and hurt— and he keeps moving forward without anger in his heart. This is not a sign of weakness, this is a sign of strength. He is complete strength, the source of strength— and he loves to give strength.

[Fear] There’s this thought from a distance that God’s desire is to break me down— this is why a lot of us are afraid to follow him completely. When the reality is that his desire is to build you up.

[Sin Damage] I don’t think we realize that God didn’t just look at a distance thinking, man humanity is so messed up, they better get it together. No, he saw that sin does damage, and he’s not ok with it.

[Parents] He’s not ok with the fact that growing up you didn’t get all the support and affirmation you needed.

[Comparison] He’s no ok with the fact that you see stuff online every day that makes you question if you’re succeeding in life.

[Wounds] He’s not ok with the fact that there’s wounds in your heart and mind that have effecting how you’ve lived your life for years.

Empowerment is one of the first responses:

One of the first actions God does when he finds humanity in sin in Genesis is to clothe and strengthen. Jesus hasn’t changed that.

Practical: Sounds great, couldn’t we all use some inner strength from his unlimited resources? How do we get this?

Let me teach you a prayer I pray often: “Jesus I choose to accept and receive your affirmation, that when you see me you love me. I don’t have to do anything to be more seen, more loved, more cared for. You love me right now. I choose to accept your strength in my inner being.”

[Reservation 1] But I have things in my life I still need to work on! Yeah and sin doesn’t get removed and you don’t become redeemed unless there’s strength to overcome.

[Reservation 2] You’re a pastor you can pray that kind of stuff, what about the rest of us! Ephesians 3:12 “Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.”

Recap/ Reflection: Don’t lose out on what this is all about– just by being close to Jesus, I receive strength. His finished work becomes something I can experience.

Point #2- Allow Jesus in our hearts to develop security

Ephesians 3:17 “Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.”

We experience his finished work as we allow Jesus in our hearts to develop security.

Paul’s describing 2 things that occur here that are mutual, it’s a relationship

Part 1- Christ will make his home in your hearts

This terminology can be a little unique to understand- home meaning that he would dwell, live, stay and be present

Can I be honest with you, Jesus never just comes into our lives apathetically. If he shows up he starts doing something. Which is comforting and uncomfortable.

[No AC] I remember there was a place I was staying in over the summer that didn’t have AC, or at least I thought it didn’t have AC.

Jesus sees those things, and he wants to fix it. This is uncomfortable. Make no mistake. Because a lot of us have built our identity around some of those thing!

BIBLE STUDY PUSH/ COFFEE

Part 2- Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong

But it’s not just that Jesus points out problems, things become replaced. Our roots grow down into him.

[The power of roots]

Roots are unseen

Roots are not pretty

Roots keep growing

Roots stabilize.

[Finished work] For so long, this type of experience wasn’t possible- this is some of the work that Jesus finished. And one day we’ll get to experience all of it.

Recap: So remember what we learn and see is that we can receive strength and we allow Jesus to come into our hearts to develop security.

Point #3- Learn & Experience God’s Love

Ephesians 3:18–19 “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

We experience his finished work as we learn and experience God’s love.

We need this two together, learning with knowledge and experiencing first hand. Typically we only get 1!

[Knowledge without experience] Ever been on a date where you only learned about them from an app and then you meet in person and feel like it’s a whole different person?

[Experience without knowledge] Ever been with someone in person and not know anything about them and then come to find out— they are NOTHING like what you thought?

Let’s talk about this more for a second:

Knowledge- he wants us to understand his love that goes beyond the limits we place on it.

Whether we realize it or not, we put limits on his love. We speak for him, things he’s never said, and never would say. So much of what we read in the Bible is about how despite problems, failures, atrocities, God still loves.

How wide

How long

How high

How deep

Experience- This is where Paul starts saying, this love starts going beyond knowledge.

There are so many things we can quantify, understand. But there’s things that can’t be explained, only experienced.

Some of you have experienced that, where you have a moment when you feel something deep in your soul.

[Purpose] But there’s a point and purpose to all of this!

And then we experience the fullness.

Ephesians 3:20 “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” 1. DONT YOU GIVE UP NOW!!!I know it might be not be fullness, but its more than I think

Personal Testimony

My not yet with my leg.

He may have finished his mission, but he didn’t finish his work on you yet

1 in 10,000

Prophetic: What if?

Prophetic: Let me tell you why we have good news when we look at the cross and see the work that Jesus did.

Some people will attempt to shorten this good news and tell you, Jesus only came to save you from your sins and hell. I’m sorry that’s not the whole story.

Some people will try and say it’s all just about a relationship we can have with Jesus- that also it not the full story.

Some people will say, now we get to live in heaven- that also is not the whole story. Let me make this perfectly clear— no one knows just how good this news is.

Culturally transcendent- It’s so good that every nation on earth can hear and see it as good.

Transcendent in time- It’s so good that people were putting their faith in before it even happened. Isaiah 53:5 even tells depicts future healing and hope depicting the events of Jesus death saying “He was beaten so we could be whole.” It speaks of it like it already happened. It’s so good and powerful that even before it occurred it was causing something to be transformed

Personal: So let me speak this to you now, and I want you to hear these words as ones I’ve been praying through for you: Your days of incompleteness and insecurity are not in front of you they are behind you. When he said “it is finished” he not only had the ability but had the desire to think of you. And as he looks at your life he today he sees:

The wounds left by your parents and caregivers. The wounds you’ve attempted to heal and he speaks to it now saying “I hold every bit of healing needed, let my finished work do it’s work in your heart.”

He sees the weight you’ve been carrying to complete yourself. He sees the desire you have to come into the light even though you walk deeper into the darkness. He not only sees you but is calling to you. Stepping into the light can feel exposing but its’ healing.

He sees how you’ve been struggling to push through the depression and anxiety to be able to live life again and he’s saying today— it’s finished.

Recap: His words again were IT IS FINISHED. Jesus finished the work of redemption and now invites us to experience elements of eternity today. And while we live between Easter and Eternity, we receive strength, we allow Jesus into our hearts to develop security, and we learn and experience his love.

Communion

Luke 22:17–20 “Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.” He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.”

Luke 22:17-20

Nueva Versión Internacional Capítulo 22

Luego tomó la copa, dio gracias y dijo:

—Tomen esto y repártanlo entre ustedes. 18 Les digo que no volveré a beber del fruto de la vid hasta que venga el reino de Dios.

19 También tomó pan y, después de dar gracias, lo partió, se lo dio a ellos y dijo:

—Este pan es mi cuerpo, entregado por ustedes; hagan esto en memoria de mí.

20 De la misma manera tomó la copa después de la cena, y dijo:

—Esta copa es el nuevo pacto en mi sangre, que es derramada por ustedes.