Taught by Pastor Brandon Sereg, Lead Pastor of Vibrant Church in Davie, FL.
Watch This Message
The Message in One Sentence
Faith is not trying harder — it is trusting what Jesus already finished. When He said “It is finished” from the cross, He was not describing His strength running out. He was announcing that the debt was paid in full, and there is nothing left for you to add to it.
“It Is Finished” Meant Something Specific
The Greek word Jesus used, tetelestai, was an everyday word in the first century. When a prisoner had served his full sentence, it was written across his paperwork: the debt is settled. Jesus did not whisper a defeated goodbye. He announced a completed transaction over your life.
There is a second word in that world worth knowing — evangelion, the word we translate “gospel” or “good news.” It was what a runner shouted when the battle was already won and the city could stop bracing for the enemy. That is what the gospel is: news of a fight you did not have to win.
The Big Idea: You Didn’t Do Anything
“You just got to hear the news and receive its benefit.” Ephesians 2:8-9 says it plainly — it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.
Your salvation has nothing to do with your performance. That is either the most offensive sentence you will read today or the most freeing one.
Where Trying Shows Up in Church People
Trying has a religious accent. It sounds like showing up on Sunday with the edited version of yourself. “How are you doing?” “Doing great, Pastor.” “How can I pray for you?” “Oh, I’m good — let me pray for you.” Fake you only ever confesses the small things, so fake you never actually gets healed.
Grace does not require you to have it together. It requires you to stop pretending you do.
The Voice of the Accuser
Some of you know the whisper: you’ve gone too far this time. Picture the courtroom. The accuser holds up the record — not the first offense, the three-thousand-seven-hundred-and-twenty-first. And the charge is true. The verdict is not overturned because the record was wrong. It is overturned because someone already served the sentence.
If you once walked with God and walked away, this is the part that is for you. The cross did not have an expiration date printed on it.
Who You Actually Are
You are not the car you drive. You are not the house you live in. You are not the number of followers you have. Only Jesus and His Word have the right to define who you are.
John, who wrote the Gospel of John, never once names himself in it. He calls himself “the one Jesus loves.” He got to pick his own nickname, and that is the one he chose. That is not arrogance. That is a man who finally believed what was said over him.
Your Next Step
If you have been trusting in good behavior, or in religion, or in having prayed enough of the right prayers — that will not save you. But God loves you, and He sent His Son to pay what you could never pay.
Stop trying. Start trusting. If you want to take that step with people around you, we would love to meet you in person at Vibrant Church in Davie — Sundays at 10:00 and 11:30 AM — or you can join us online.
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