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In today’s high-tech generation is God still Important?

Stephan Hawkings, one of the renowned scientist in his book “The Grand Design” said “Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”

What he basically said is that there is no need for God anymore to get us going.

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The debate whether God exists or not has been going on for generations and it still continues and I don’t think I am really qualified to answer that question. But I definitely want to address and talk about areas that technology fails to give an acceptable answer.

When it comes to technology I do agree that it has answered a lot of questions and solved a lot of problems but what about some of the unanswered questions about human existence that it fails to address.

The one that I want to talk about in this article is ‘Human Suffering‘.

The world has advanced and reached new heights. We now have our footprints on Mars but back home people still suffer from poverty, hunger & scarcity. We’ve not been able to solve this grievous problem on human kind with all our innovations and progress.

Some of us think that God causes human suffering and that he is indifferent to it. But sadly we fail to investigate the real cause of human suffering.

The Bible says

“For a certainty, God does not act wickedly.”—Job 34:12.

The truth is humans are often victimized by other humans (Ecclesiastes 8:9). And we may face calamities because of ‘unexpected events’, because of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. ( Ecclesiastes 9:11).

The real cause of suffering is SIN, our wretched and selfish hearts have caused this suffering and not God.

Romans 5:12

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.

Isaiah 59:2

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

1 John 3:4

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

If we have to bring an end to human suffering we have to eliminate SIN, and unfortunately technology has no answer to this problem.

Only God provides a lasting solution for this hideous problem.

The Bible says in John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”

Sin not only causes men to act evil but also leads to eternal death and damnation. The Bible says that the wages of Sin is death.

But God, because of His great Love for His creation sent His only Son to take the penalty of our sin, release us from its clutches and give us a new freedom in Christ. The promise given to those who believe in Christ is that we are set free from sin and made slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:18) with a promise of eternal Life (1 John 2:25).

And the ultimate command given to us by Jesus before His death & resurrection was

“Love one another as I have loved you” – John 13:34

Imagine a world where each one of us loved each other with the same love that God bestowed upon us. The good earth can easily satisfy the needs of every human being only if people stopped behaving wretchedly and selfishly and look for the good in other human beings.

No matter how advanced and high-tech our technology gets we still need God to save us from the real problem and that is SIN. 

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Sermon

The After Effects of Seeing & Savoring God’s Word. (Nehemiah 8:9-12)

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/repentance-audio-cutter.com_.mp3″]

[otw_shortcode_info_box border_type=”bordered” border_color_class=”otw-black-border” border_style=”bordered” shadow=”shadow-down-right” rounded_corners=”rounded-10″]This sermon is part of the Expository Preaching Collective on the Book of Nehemiah. Follow the link below to know more about What Expository preaching is and Why is it important to us. (Click here)[/otw_shortcode_info_box]

A crucial challenge every Christian goes through in their everyday walk with Jesus is defeating Sin and allowing God to reign in our lives. And the best possible way to overcome this challenge is to feed our heart and soul with the word of God.

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In our passage last week from Nehemiah 8:1-8 we saw how the people of God came back to God’s Law as they were beginning to live in their new found freedom.

  • They set their hearts on seeking God’s Law as a community.
  • They gave God’s word the highest prominence in their lives.
  • They put effort in understanding God’s heart and his purposes

Before we look into today’s passage let me ask how many of us went back home and seriously thought about it and made adjustments to our daily routine to accommodate more of God’s word? You can answer that question in your heart.

If your answer is ‘Yes’, well and good.

But if your answer is ‘No’ then I want to urge you as a brother in the Lord to seriously consider doing so because it is only the Word of God that will help us defeat Sin and allow God to reign in our lives.

Real change will come only when we feed your heart mind and soul with God’s word.

In Psalms 119:11 David writes “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you”

V9“How can those who are young keep their way pure? By living according to your word”

V130“The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple”

V165“Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble”

With that thought in mind let’s turn to today’s passage i.e Nehemiah 8:9-12

What we see in this passage is basically the after effects of what happened to the people when they heard the Law of God.

Now that we are convinced that we should be giving God’s word the highest prominence, I believe this passage from Nehemiah 8:9-12 will help us discern whether the Word of God is really impacting our lives the way it should.

V9 says “All the people wept as they heard the words of the Law”

They wept, out of a deep sense of guilt leading them to REPENTANCE.

When they heard the Law they realized how much grievance they caused to God because of their rebelliousness. They realized how sinful they had become in the sight of God and yet God persuaded them with Love and brought them back again into His presence.

Just like these people whenever we approach and read God’s word we should allow His word to convict us and lead us into genuine Repentance.

We should see our sinfulness and God’s graciousness displayed through Christ, leading us into Godly sorrow.

Why sorrow?

2 Cor 7:10 says “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret”

Now, What Repentance really is?

– Does repentance mean simply saying sorry and getting away with it for a moment?
– Does it mean just confessing our sins for the sake of it just because the preacher said so? – or-
– Does it mean turning away for sins momentarily to escape consequences?

Charles Spurgeon said “Repentance is a discovery of the evil of sin, a mourning that we have committed it, and a resolution to forsake it. It is in fact, a change of mind of a very deep and practical character which makes the man love what once he hated, and hate what once he loved”

John Piper said “Repenting means experiencing a change of mind that now sees God as true and beautiful and worthy of all our praise and all our obedience”

Did you know — To Repent is a command in the Bible?

Rev 3:19 says “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and Repent”

A famous 17th century Pastor Thomas Watson wrote a ‘treatise’ on repentance  with 6 ingredients to show what genuine repentance looks like.

Ingredient 1 – Sight of Sin

The first ingredient Watson calls as the ‘Sight of Sin’, and what he means is that first and foremost we ought to see our Sins when we read the scriptures.

It’s easy to read the book of Exodus and say how terrible those guys were, even after God’s graciousness they kept offending him. Or to read a verse and think of someone else to whom you think it applies. But it is often hard to see our own attitudes and sinfulness.

When we read the Word of God we ought to see our sinful heart in comparison to a Holy God. To see how wretched we are in our attitude and thoughts that we do not deserve any good thing from Him. That even our righteousness is like filthy rags in the sight of God.

Rom 3:10 says “None is righteous, no, not one”

Even to those people who think they had a good week where they stayed away from sin and walked in obedience in every way – your hearts are still wretched in comparison to God’s Holiness.

And therefore, there can never be a moment when we read His word and are never convicted our sins.

When Nehemiah heard the news of the broken walls he saw his sins and the sins of his fore fathers.

Ingredient 2 – Sorrow over Sin

This ingredient is the element of lament for our sins as we see its effects on ourselves, on others, and on God.

Just like Nehemiah, he wept and mourned for days in the presence of God.

And that is the exact emotion the people of Israel went through when the Law of God was read.

In Psalms 51:17 Davis writes “The sacrifices of God are … a broken and contrite heart”

When we read the scriptures see our sins we approach God with a broken heart and not with Arrogance. We have to mourn before God for ourselves, our families, our relatives, our friends…. for the people we love the most.

Ingredient 3 – Confession of Sin

Watson says “Sorrow is such a vehement passion that it must vent. It vents itself at the eyes by weeping and at the tongue by confession”

Confession means taking ownership for our actions, the grief that we’ve caused to God by sinning against Him and rebelling against his word.

We confess our Sins not just to God but also to one another.

James 5:16 says “Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed”

Ingredient 4 – Shame of Sin

Apart from confessing our sins we also have to feel ashamed of it. Ezra in Ezra 9:6 cries out to God saying “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our hearts, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens”

Remember Jesus paid a costly price to save us from Sin and slavery, and we should feel ashamed take advantage of His goodness.

Ingredient 5 – Hatred of Sin

“Christ is never loved till sin is loathed”

Genuine repentance reflects something of God’s wrath. God’s anger burns at Sin.

It is not just a historical anger but an eternal one. And therefore when we get angry at our sin, we reflect God’s nature, His Holiness and Purity to those around us.

“We have to hate what we once loved”

Ingredient 6 – Turning from Sin

Repentance means little if it does not result in reformation.

In Ezekiel 14:6 God says “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God; Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations”

Acts 3:19 – “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord”

How do we know whether our turning away is genuine?

If our turning away is genuine then we will never return back to it again.  And if we end up going back again then we have still not hated it enough.

Proverbs 26:11 says “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly”

Repentance is a key part of a Christian life. It never feels good – and if it feels good, then you’re doing it wrong.

Genuine Repentance invites God’s forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”

He only forgives us but also credits us with Christ’s righteousness. And that’s exactly the Gospel.

When we were still sinners Christ died for us – and that by repenting of our sins and believing in Jesus we are saved from eternal death and are called RIGHTEOUS.

Psalms 32:11 says “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart”

The rest of the text in Nehemiah 8:10-12 we see how the people rejoiced and celebrated when they understood what was shared.

  • A joy that is contagious
  • A joy that is genuine
  • A joy that calls for a celebration
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Seeking God with all our Heart

Why would God the Father go through such painful extreme of redeeming us back to Himself by sending to us His one and only son, Jesus Christ to bear the punishment that we deserved by going through the most horrific death that no one could or ever will undergo for us?

It was only to prove His unconditional, undying love for every man and every woman and for us to once again enjoy an intimate fellowship with our Maker.

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But ‘Seeking God‘ is a term we hear and can relate to a lot so much so that it can turn out to be a monotonous routine if we’re not careful. At least that is what I can tell about myself yet the times I have felt Gods presence ever so close to me is during the dark moments when I have sought the Lord with all my heart.

Jeremiah 29:13,14 says “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity”.

So, where do we find God?

It’s in His Word, in our sorrows, our joys, our turmoils, our triumphs, in our fears, our doubts, His working in other people’s lives and so on.

Jeremiah 29:13 says, ‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart’.

God wants us to know not just about Him but to know Him personally. A relationship that involves knowledge or intellect but no heart is not a relationship at all. His presence is always with us and surrounds us but it takes an active role on our part of seeking Him. It’s not our own efforts but the Lord who enables us to go after Him.

Does this come easily?

Well, not really because in this journey called ‘life’ that we all go through, there are many barriers that we need to overcome. For some these barriers are our own self like our selfish desires, our own agendas, our own thoughts, being complacent, lethargic, being too focused on our circumstances or situations, all about ‘us’ and other distractions that draw us away from our walk with God.

Since Gods word says that ‘the heart is deceitful above all things‘, we need to keep coming back to the cross, back to God asking Him to empty ourselves of every pride, selfishness and other sins that captivate our hearts.

Jesus says in John 14:6, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’.

If we seek God, we will find Him and when His Truth dwells in our hearts it means Christ dwelling richly in our hearts.

Here are some practical ways we can seek the Lord:
  • Talking honestly with God as you would with a best friend which is praying, reading, studying and meditating on His word, reading good Christian literature and other resources
  • Journalising new insights and thoughts that God lays on your heart.
  • Listening to encouraging and uplifting gospel songs as well as sermons, discussions, talks and even asking questions to people who follow Jesus.

These are some of the ways we can fill our hearts and minds with the things of God and pursue Him.

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What does it mean to see & savour God’s word as a Community? (Nehemiah 8:1-8)

This sermon is part of the Expository Preaching Collective on the Book of Nehemiah. Follow the link below to know more about What Expository preaching is and Why is it important to us. (Click here)[/otw_shortcode_info_box]

Our text for today is from Nehemiah 8:1-8.

Let me give you a brief background of the story before jumping into the text.

God’s people lived in disobedience to His Laws and rebels against Him. Instead of worshiping the one true God they started worshiping man-made gods; and God gave them away into the hands of their enemy.

In the year 586 BC Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple of God was burned down by the enemy nation. Men, women and children were taken captives and given to slavery. They were taken away from their land and the walls that protected them were broken down.

But then 70 years later God brings them back to Jerusalem.

Last Sunday we looked at why God gathers His people. He brings them back to re-establish His worship because He zealously desires His worship above everything else and He pursues us lovingly.

He calls a man called Nehemiah and assigns him the task of re-building the walls of Jerusalem so that the people are protected and secure.

Against all the opposition and trouble Nehemiah with God’s help completes the re-building of the wall in 52 days. It couldn’t have been accomplished without the help of God.

We also learnt how the story of Nehemiah is a reflection of God’s redemptive work through His son Jesus Christ.

When God created the first man and women they sinned against Him and rebelled against His authority. In return God gave them away to Sin. And therefore every human being born in this world is born sinful, without a relationship with God who is our heavenly Father.

Because of Sin we deserved death – Romans 6:23

We became salves to Sin – John 8:34

God was unable to relate with us because of our fallen state.

But the good news is that God still loved us and to mend this broken relationship He sent His only begotten son Jesus Christ to died in our place for our Sin.

Romans 5:8 says “God demonstrates His own love for us in this; while we were still sinners Christ died for us”

John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world He gave His only son Jesus, to die in our place for our sinfulness”

Whoever believes in Jesus will not perish but have eternal life is what God promises.

Yes, Jesus died in our place. But on the third day he rose again defeating death and is now seated on the right hand of the Father interceding for us.

Jesus is the better Nehemiah who came to re-establish our broken relationship with God for ever.

Nehemiah chapter 8:1-8 gives us another interesting picture on what Jesus accomplished for us.

Verse 1 says “And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the water gate”

What I found interesting is the word “one man”

In Ephesians 2:14-16, 22 we see this word mentioned again by Paul.

“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and mightreconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility….. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

There are two things we learn from the above passage.

1. United in Christ

That Jesus didn’t just save us from sin, slavery and death as individuals but He also unites us together to one another and presents us before the Father as one man, one unit.

He has broken down all the walls that separated us from one another. The walls of religion, caste, language, color etc.

The day we believed in the good news of the Kingdom and surrendered our lives to the one true living God, he broke every diving walls of hostility.

It implies that as a child of God I no longer have to live in isolation. We now have brothers and sisters in the Lord to stand with us through every circumstance in life.

And that is why we are called –

  • To love one another – John 13:34-35
  • To admonish one another
  • To encourage one another
  • To help one another
  • To be patient with one another
    – Thessalonians 5:14
2. Built together as God’s dwelling place

Ephesians 2:15 – We are built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. God dwells in the unity of His people.

Nehemiah 8:1 says the people came together as one man.

They came together and read out the Law of Moses that the Lord had given. They basically read out from the book of Leviticus where God instructs His people how to worship Him and obey Him.

What is clean & unclean in his sight, what sacrifices were acceptable to Him and which ones were unacceptable, guidelines on following the Sabbath etc.

Last to last Sunday we spoke about the Old testament Law and how it has been fulfilled in Christ and that we are no more are bound to that Law and its practices anymore. The Law is still important as it now points us to Christ and the Gospel.

What we learn from the act of the these people in Nehemiah is

  1. They set their hearts on seeking God’s word as a community
  2. They gave God’s word the highest prominence in their lives
  3. They put effort in understanding God’s heart and his purposes for them

The first things that stands out as an application for us is to set our hearts on Gods words as a community, giving his word the highest prominence ever and to put effort in knowing Him and knowing His purposes for our lives.

Let’s ask ourselves how are doing this aspect, are we committed to the Lord and His word more than anything in this world.

When we come together to see and savour His word He dwells among us and commands His blessings over us. He unites our hearts even more bringing uniformity in our thoughts and actions.

Our seeing and savouring of God’s word then transcends into service. Service to God and service to one another where Love is prevalent, Joy is the norm and Peace is the outcome.

God is doing a beautiful thing among us, lets engage with one heart and one soul bringing Glory to His name.

AMEN!

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God is Our Heavenly Father

A few weeks back I was having a conversation with my 8 year old son Jairus.

I wanted to know his opinion about what he thinks about God and so I told him “I wonder why God still loves me even though sometimes in my ignorance I make mistakes and do things that hurt him”.

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The answer he gave me was “God is our heavenly Father just like how you are our father, even though when we make mistakes and hurt you, you still love us. That’s exactly why even God loves you.”

The bible says in Lamentations 3:22-23

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

An earthly father’s love for his children is just a glimpse of God’s love for us.

There are times in my life when I fail to understand this human love and wonder whether I truly know God’s love for me which is beyond comparison.

1 John 3:1-2“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are … Beloved, we are God’s children”

1 John 4:9“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”

I feel so comforted to know that He is my Father and I am His child and that by sending his son Jesus to die for my sin He has restored our relationship back.

Let this thought comfort you too!

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What does it mean to be in a covenant relationship with God? (Nehemiah 7:5-73)

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/covenant-relation-with-god.mp3″]

[otw_shortcode_info_box border_type=”bordered” border_color_class=”otw-black-border” border_style=”bordered” shadow=”shadow-down-right” rounded_corners=”rounded-10″]This sermon is part of the Expository Preaching Collective on the Book of Nehemiah. Follow the link below to know more about What Expository preaching is and Why is it important to us. (Click here)[/otw_shortcode_info_box]

Read Nehemiah 7:5-73

v4 – Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt.

v5 – So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return. This is what I found written there….

v73 – The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the temple servants, along with certain of the people and the rest of the Israelites, settled in their own towns. When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns

The city walls have been rebuilt, and miraculously in a record 52 days! However, when Nehemiah looks around he sees that the land is spacious and large but there’s nobody living in it. (v4) God then stirs his heart to bring together all the nobles, officials and people and get them registered so that they can begin to inhabit Jerusalem. He’s helped by a genealogical record of the first returnees. (v5)

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I believe this passage highlights the covenant keeping character of God. That’s why the context is very essential.

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With regards to this, we can learn two things:

1) God zealously desires His worship
2) God lovingly pursues His people

1. God zealously desires His worship

At the outset when we look at this passage it may only seem like a story about repopulating and inheriting the land. Prior to this, the story may have appeared to only be a story of rebuilding broken walls. And that’s what we may think when we look at the surface: Construction and Inhabitation. However, when we dig deeper we find out that there’s something very significant that we can know about God and about ourselves through this passage.

The truth of the matter is that by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and by re-populating the city, the ultimate goal was to establish the worship of Yahweh!

Firstly, when we look at their history we understand that the very reason why they were exiled was due to idolatry! The people’s hearts were corrupted and they quickly turned away from God. Most of the Kings who ruled over them were wicked and caused them to worship idols. Every practice that was considered wicked in the eyes of the Lord was now being practiced among the Israelites – people who were supposed to be set apart for God!

1 Kings 14:22-24
“And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. For they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, and there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.”

So God gave them up to their enemies in order to be captured and they were exiled.

2 Kings 24:18-20
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.

Verse 20 is a very depressing statement when we look at Judah because they were the people of God, God shared a very special relationship with them, God dwelt among them, through them God was going to bless all the other nations. However, we see how miserably they failed in their worship of God. After everything God did for them, how they responded in disobedience and rebellion. It echoes the statement in Genesis when it talks how Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden because of their sin.

I remember reading through 1 Kings and 2 Kings and just feeling so depressed. The kings who were put in their place by God to lead people to worship were the very ones who turned the people away from God. At some moments I would think “Why do they do that to God? Why do they need to bow down to other idols? Why can’t they obey God? They deserve to be judged”. Just then I realized how my heart also bows to other idols. The biggest idol factory is located in our hearts. Every time we look at our family, friends, relationships, jobs, money, food, things we can buy, our possessions, fame, pride and find greater pleasure in them than God, we are bowing down to idols. Every time we find our identity in the affirmations of people and in the things that we do, we bow down to idols. Every time we find our ultimate security in our bank account, our homes, our jobs and relationships we bow down to idols.

But why would God give up His people and judge His people for worshipping other Gods? Why does He demand His full and complete worship?

And sometimes we feel God is being too harsh on this disloyalty thing. So this illustration helps me understand why the worship and fidelity to God cannot be shared or compromised:

What would you do if your 5 year old child went about calling everyone else “Daddy” or “Mommy”? You may warn him a few times but it’s going to get you really angry beyond a point because that title of a “Dad” or “Mom” belongs to you. It cannot be shared with anyone else. If that’s the relationship and the expectation of a child from the parent, can we actually reserve our worship for anyone else except our God, the one who fashioned and created us?

Secondly, when we look at the professional group of classes of people returning from exile: Priests, Levites, singers, gate-keepers, temple servants, we can infer that worship was a priority and was being emphasized.

What did Jerusalem mean to God and the people?
1. It signified God’s protective reign over His people.
2. It meant that God would dwell among His people.
3. It would be the place where God would meet His people (forgive, demonstrate justice, provide help, show mercy and grace) 1 Kings 8

The idea of the temple and Jerusalem was that it would be like God’s throne from where He would rule His people.
The main reason why the people were brought back into the city of Jerusalem to settle in was not because they were homeless, or because there was a better opportunity for living out there, but because He wanted to re-establish His worship among the people.

It’s so encouraging to know that we worship God who is zealous about His Worship. What would it mean for us to see his worship of the One true God be established in our lives personally? It would mean that we need to repent of the idols in our hearts. How can Christ be the One in whom we find our ultimate pleasure, identity and security? What would it mean for us to see the worship of the One true God be established in Mumbai? It’s a huge question. We’re all trying to figure it out. Definitely through the gospel and by confronting the idols of not only wood and stone but also of the culture.

What idols do you come across through your conversations with your friends, family and colleagues?
What creative ways can you use to confront them?

2. God lovingly pursues His people

v5 – Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it

Nehemiah makes it explicitly clear in this book that it’s not his own initiative but the desire that God put in his heart to bring all this about.

…..And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. (v5, Nehemiah 2:12)

Not only does God zealously desire His worship but He also lovingly pursues His people when they fall away. As we read in those passages in 1 and 2 Kings, Judah and Israel blew it. Yet God was so patient with them. He didn’t immediately destroy them but delayed the judgment. King after King came and acted wickedly against God. If we were in God’s place, we would’ve probably destroyed the people and created a new nation all over again. But no, God keeps His covenant that He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They are His people. So what does He do? He remains faithful to His covenant and keeps a remnant for Himself. They are exiled but not completely destroyed. And then He pursues them with love and brings them back to the Promise Land. It’s walls are broken and gates are burned, so God rebuilds the walls…(for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God – Neh 6:16). Isn’t that so amazing and loving of our God?

That’s a picture of the gospel right there. We all deserve the judgment of God as a result of our sin. But God lovingly pursues us. He comes to us. God became man – Jesus. Lived the perfect, impeccable life. Unlike us he didn’t sin. He worshipped God fully and completely. But He shows His love for us by dying in our place as our substitute. So that by His sacrifice every single barrier that separated you from God: sin, Satan and death could be completely defeated. He remains faithful till the end.

Praise God for loving kindness and faithfulness!

Doesn’t that encourage us today? You may think you’ve blown it in your relationship with God. But the encouragement is in knowing that God lovingly pursues us. What He desires is repentance and full trust in what Christ accomplished for you.

Also, another application as we go about sharing the gospel and making disciples is in knowing that it’s not our initiative that changes people but it’s the loving pursuit of our God that’s going to change them. The moment people realize and see what God has done for them, how He’s pursued them in spite of their rebellion, that’s what’s going to transform them. So the pressure is off. You don’t need to feel the pressure of having those “numbers” but can freely, gladly and willingly share about His love and faithfulness! And God who is faithful will bring that about.

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Articles

One True God

I’ve never had the urge to bow down to a metal cow, a carved human, or a wooden pole. The idea of chanting or dancing around a six-armed deity or pot-bellied statue doesn’t even come close to getting me excited. I’ve never wanted to make offerings to rats living in a shrine.

[bctt tweet=”God asks us to do acts of kindness without the big fanfare of public recognition” username=”gatheringmumbai”]

But that doesn’t mean I’m immune to idols. The idols that trip me up as a human aren’t tangible figures of supposed gods and goddesses. They’re ideas and beliefs that can, if left unchecked, interrupt my worship of the one true God.

I wonder how many times God has intervened in my life without me realizing it. I am sure I live unaware of God’s provision, protection and help in my life. Just as God asks us to do acts of kindness without the big fanfare of public recognition, God is always doing things on our behalf that He doesn’t let us in on. His kindness is at work constantly.

God has shown me that, more than anything, he wants my heart. He wants a tender, mold able heart willing to obey more than he wants any obligatory service I can give him. As He writes a new chapter in my life to reveal the plans He has for me.

Sometimes church planting feels like you’re pretending to be a church. And then one day (after backbreaking work and lots of prayer) you realize God has built an honest-to-goodness church right before your eyes and there is unimaginable joy and reward in sacrifice and service. I pray that God could use my life to impact others in a mighty way. I do know that part of being a follower of Jesus, and doing life His way, is about living my faith.

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Sermon

Are we still bound to the Law and its practices? (Nehemiah 6:15 – 7:4)

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/are-we-still-bound-to-law.mp3″]

Our text for today is from Nehemiah 6:15 – 7:4, but before getting there I want to share something important that will help us process what’s been preached from this book.

Even though the book of Nehemiah is actually the story of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall, you must have noticed that we often link it to Jesus & the Gospel. One might argue why is that so? Can’t we just talk about Nehemiah, his courage, his leadership ability, his perseverance etc?

[bctt tweet=”Are we still bound to the Law and its practices? #law #nehemiah ” username=”gatheringmumbai”]

The reason we do not look at the OT passages in its literal sense is because the bible tells us that everything in the Old Testament passages are a mere shadow of the new covenant in Christ which means all the stories – whether Creation, Exodus, the Great Flood, Job, Esther, Nehemiah – all the people Adam, Eve, Moses, Abraham, David, Samuel etc – all the OT ordinances  Passover, Tabernacle, 10 commandments etc — they all point to the fulfillment of Gods promises in Jesus.

In Colossians 2:16-17 Paul while addressing to the church with regards to complaints from some believers on following the old testament commands about food, drink, Sabbath etc says these words

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

Christ is the fulfillment & completion of God’s redemptive work for every human being and therefore when we read and study any passage from the OT we have to see it in the light of the Gospel, the finished work of God or else we will make an error and pick up ideas & thoughts that are not really relevant or applicable to us.

In John 5:46 Jesus himself says these words For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.”

The truth is without Christ and his finished work on the cross there is no other way humanity can find fulfillment in Life.

In the same way the story of Nehemiah is a reflection of Jesus. Jesus, as the better Nehemiah also bore the burden of temptation on behalf of the people (Nehemiah for the Jews & Christ, fully & completely for us).

Nehemiah goes and prepares a place for the exiles to return home to Jerusalem. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. Just as the Jews were living as exiles in a place that was not their home, so are we living as sojourners / exiles in this place. Can you see the connection?

With that thought in mind now let’s read our passage. Nehemiah 6:15 – 7:4

We will divide the passage in 3 parts

Part 1 (v15-16) – Completion of the wall

So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.  And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

Part 2 (v17-19) – The nobles bounded to Tobiah by an oath

Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife.  Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.

Part 3 (7v1 – 4) – Nehemiah guarding what God accomplished

Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.” The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.

Part 1: Completion of the wall

Now, finally we read that the wall is complete. The task for which Nehemiah was sent is done. And the most amazing thing is that it was completed in 52 days. This wall is said to have been 4.5 miles long, 24 ft at the base and just over 26 ft. tall. It was made using hands. No power tools. No machinery.

It was a humongous and an impossible task. The verses say when the enemies heard the news about the walls been completed, they were filled with fear.

Why would they be filled with fear? Because they perceived that the work had been accomplished with the help of God.

Part 2: The nobles bounded to Tobiah by an oath

The second part of the story tells us that even after the walls were completed with the help of God, the nobles in Judah were bound by an oath to Tobiah, an Ammonite. He was the one who conspired against Nehemiah and wanted to stop the re-building of the wall, which we read in the previous chapters.

How were the nobles bounded to Tobiah?

You see, Tobiah married a daughter of Shecaniah, a Judahite leader, and had given his son, Jehohanan, in marriage to the daughter of Meshullam, another Judahite leader which appears to be done for political reasons, which is why the nobles found themselves bound by some oath.

Tobiah because of his association with the nobles must have promised these Judahites that he will deliver them and give them a good future under his leadership. Maybe that was the reason why the nobles regularly sent letters to Tobiah to keep him updated with the work that was happening and vice versa, they would also speak praises of Tobiah in the presence of Nehemiah.

After receiving news from the nobles, Tobiah in return would send threatening letters to Nehemiah.

The truth which the nobles failed to understand was that Tobiah was not God’s plan for the redemption of His people. It was Nehemiah.

Part 3: Nehemiah guards what God accomplished

In verses 7:1-4, regardless of what was happening with the nobles, Nehemiah guards what God accomplished for them. He appoints gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites.

He appoints his brother Hanani the governor of the castle, a faithful and God-fearing person. Nehemiah even gives instructions on how the gates should be guarded.

Application

How does this passage point us to Christ and give us a picture of the Gospel?

Completion of the walls (Application)

The completion of the wall is what God accomplished for us through Salvation by sending His only son to die for us. The words of Jesus on the cross “It is finished” speaks of the finished work of God in us. Salvation through Christ is the completion of the redemptive work of God in all our lives.

Was it a humongous and an impossible task? Yes it was.

Could it be accomplished by human efforts? No, it couldn’t.

Jesus accomplished it in 3 days (through His death, burial & resurrection) just as he promised to build the temple in 3 days which was a confusing statement for the people then but we know that he was referencing his body.

The work that God did in our lives is often shocking and cause of concern to our unbelieving family members, relatives & friends. They will even fail to believe that a man/women like us can change to this extent.

They have to admit that it is only God who can do this amazing work.

The nobles bounded to Tobiah under an oath (Application)

After reading about the nobles being bound to Tobiah, I was drawn to the passage in Romans 7:1-6, in which Paul is writing to the church in Rome.

Or do you not know, brothers —for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

Even after what God accomplished for us through Christ by GRACE we can still be bound to the Law and its practices (just like the women bound to her dead husband or like the nobles bound to Tobiah)  in a way that we feel obligated to do things and say things that are unpleasant to God.

Romans 7:4 says “we have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.”

In Jesus the law has been fulfilled and we are released from it, having died to that which held us captive.

Matthew 5:17-18: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

The law was kept perfectly by Christ. And all its penalties against God’s sinful people were poured out on Christ. Therefore, the law is now manifestly not the path to righteousness, Christ is. The ultimate goal of the law is that we would look to Christ, not law-keeping, for our righteousness.

Romans 10:4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

And therefore we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

Galatians 3:24 – So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

Just like how Tobiah was not Gods plan for the redemption of his people, it was Nehemiah. In the same way the Law was never Gods plan of redemption, it was Jesus.

The Law produces Religion & God hates religion.

Timothy Keller in his book “Center Church” says there are in fact 2 ways to reject God.

“You can reject God by rejecting his law and living any way you see fit. And you can also reject God by embracing and obeying God’s law so as to earn your salvation. The problem is that people in the last group – who reject the gospel in favour of moralism – look as if they are trying to do God’s will.”

If you’ve seen our FB page last week you will see 9 posts on Religion vs Gospel which I picked up from Timothy Keller’s book. You will see how the Gospel is so different from Religion and the kind of response it expects from us. I would encourage you to read it as often as possible.

One of my favorite is the first one which is Religion says “I obey, therefore I’m accepted” but Gospel says “I’m accepted, therefore I obey”

Nehemiah appoints Guards (Application)

In the light of what has been shared so far what do we do?

1. Guard what God has accomplished

Galatians 1:6-9

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you,let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

Just like Nehemiah we have to guard what God has accomplished for us. Not to let false teachings and doctrines turn our hearts from the truth.

2. Cherish the truth of the Gospel

Galatians 2:15-16

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;  yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

We should remind ourselves of who we are in Christ. Because Christ redeemed us from sin, we are no longer slaves to sin (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are adopted sons and daughters of the Most High (Romans 8:15). God loves us like he loves his Son (John 17:23). God looks at us and sees the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). In Christ, we are now the heirs of his Kingdom (1 Peter 1:4).

3. Apply & Preach the Gospel to your everyday life

Paul Tripp quote:

Preaching the gospel to ourselves is a spiritual discipline that is both proactive and reactive. It’s reactive as we encounter temptation and frustration and seek to restock in the moment, or as we reflect back on our sin and circumstances and try to evaluate them with a gospel lens.

But it’s also proactive — it goes on the offensive — when we feed our souls in some regular rhythm before the events and tasks and disappointments of daily life begin streaming our way. Make it a daily practice to 1) gaze on the beauty of Christ, 2) remember who we are as a child of God, 3)rest in his power and provision, and then 4) act in reliance upon him.

Are we still bound to the Law- (3)