Month: April 2022

Happy Resurrection Day to everyone!

A warm welcome to all of you.

It is such a joy and privilege to be in God’s presence with his beloved people. I am once again glad that God has enabled me to preach from his word.

As we always say, we’re not standing here because of our smartness and eloquence but only because of the grace and mercy of God that he chooses to reveal himself through his word and through insignificant people like us.

Today, being the Resurrection Day, we will look at a passage that describes the resurrection event of Jesus to help us GRASP its relevance in our lives and to help us respond in faithful OBEDIENCE.

After Jesus was brutally killed – Afflicted, Humiliated, Rejected & Separated, the bible tells us that his body was buried in a tomb with a big stone rolled at the entrance and guarded by the roman soldiers.

Our passage today from John 20 begins by telling us that …

“On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb”

I want us to pause here for a moment and understand what’s going on. To Mary and the people, it may have simply appeared that the stone at the tomb had been taken away. There could have been various explanations for that.

In Matthew 28:11-15 Matthew tells us what the roman guards and the Jews did –

*While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ****And if this comes

to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ***So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

Unlike whatever the story has been told to this day, brothers & sisters, I want us to understand that Jesus’s resurrection from death was one of the most significant events in human history. Jesus’s resurrection from the dead completed the glorious mission that the Father had intended.

Why is the Resurrection of Jesus a significant event?

Jesus’s Resurrection is a significant event because …

It was the display of God’s immense power

To believe in the resurrection is to believe in God. Why? Because if God exists, and if He created the universe and has power over it, then He has the power to raise the dead.

If He does not have such power, He is not worthy of our faith and worship.

Only He who created life can resurrect it after death, only He can reverse death into life, and only He can remove the sting and gain the victory over the grave

*1 Corinthians 15:54–55 – When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” ***“O death, where is your victory?    O death, where is your sting?”

In resurrecting Jesus from the grave, God reminds us of His absolute sovereignty over life and death.

Jesus’s Resurrection is a significant event because …

It validates Jesus’s claim as a Son of God

Matthew 16:1-4 – And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

The phrase “sign of Jonah” was used by Jesus as a metaphor for His future crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. It meant that as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days and came out the third day, so will the Son the God.

Jesus answered with this expression when asked by the Pharisees for miraculous proof that He was indeed the Messiah.

When Jesus was resurrected from the dead, he validated his claim as a Son of God.

Jesus’s Resurrection is a significant event because …

It brings hope to this dying world

*1 Peter 1:3-4 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ***to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

The bible tells us that when God created the world, the heavens, and the earth, animals, and birds – he also created man and women in his image and likeness. God’s original plan for man and women was to live in fellowship and friendship with him and thereby inherit the earth by bearing children and living in absolute harmony with God and each other.

But instead of walking in obedience to him, when the serpent tempted them, they were driven by selfish ambition to become like God and they chose to rebel against their creator God and decided to fix their lives their own thing.

The day Adam and Eve choose to disobey God, they lost harmony with God – A Holy God couldn’t stand the unholy men and drove them out of his presence. They and even the children they bore ended up as God-haters, selfish and mean, and to this generation, that is the state of every child, man, and woman born into this world – Disharmony with God – Hopeless and sinful.

In Romans 1:28-32, Paul shows God’s response toward disobedient people

Romans 1: 28-32 – And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

I wonder what if God had decided to turn away from us forever and let us continue in sin. Have you wondered what would have happened to us if God had taken away all his gracious provision on earth from us?

We would have killed and butchered each other to death.

But God chooses to stick around with us. He chooses to love us. He chooses to be committed by keeping his part of the friendship.

The bible tells us that while we were sinners, he sent his son Jesus on earth, to live the obedient life we were supposed to live, earn righteousness from God and exchange it with our sinfulness on the cross of calvary, thereby giving us an opportunity to restore our broken relationship back to God.

If we confess and repent of our wrongdoings and trust in the finished work of Jesus we can be renewed and restored.

Jesus’s resurrection is a significant event because it completes the task for which he was sent on earth – to restore us back to the Father.

He did this for insignificant people like us – the ones who should have been afflicted, humiliated, rejected & killed because of our separation from God.

Mary Magdalene, who first came to the burial place of Jesus, the first person Jesus met after his resurrection, was a demon-possessed woman – Luke 8:2 tells us that Jesus healed her from evil spirits and her infirmities.

The disciple she first ran to, Peter, was a betrayer, he denied Jesus 3 times just a couple of days back.

The other disciples of Jesus acted foolish and dumb when they reached the tomb and did not understand what was happening. verse 9 says, they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

Friends, just like these guys, we too belong to the insignificant category. Possessed, failure, selfish, sinful, foolish, dumb, forgetful, good for nothing category.

But here’s the beauty of God.

Only a divine visitation from Jesus is capable of opening our eyes to see him, embrace him, and believe in him.

John 20: 11-16 – But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,[b]  “Rabboni!”. – I SEE YOU!

Friends today could be your divine moment where Jesus is revealing himself to you.

And there could only be two responses from us –

One – We say I see you Jesus, but I choose to walk away because the world looks more fascinating to me, I think I like the darkness more than the light or

Two – We say, I see you Jesus, and I choose to trust in you because this world and the things of this world are fading away – Everlasting life, joy, and peace are only found in you because this is why I was created for – To know you and to be known by you – So here I am.

Our response should be … Jesus I confess I am a sinner and I repent of them … I need a savior to deliver me … therefore I put my trust in you.

Finally, if you have responded to Jesus and his love and found that liberating and peace-giving, then we all be like Mary.

John 20:18 – Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

Today, we get to hear the good news of Jesus because a bunch of disciples who witnessed the resurrected Christ went out and announced it to the world – almost every one of them was killed and martyred for their faith and bold proclamation. They were faithful in spreading the good news of Jesus, no matter what – Only because they saw and valued their life in eternity with Jesus as more precious than anything else in this world. It is our turn to do the same.

Let’s pray!

Good evening everybody! Even as I welcome everyone who has joined us in person at the hall and those who have tuned in online, I just want to say that I’m so thankful for the opportunity to gather in person during Passion Week after almost two years.

It’s so good to see everyone & together remember what the Lord has done for us during the events of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. As followers of Jesus Christ, these two events form the centerpiece of our Christian faith.

If we exclude the events of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, it leaves us with no base / no foundation for our Christian faith. And so that’s why it becomes so essential to us what happened on that Good Friday two thousand years back and how that impacts us even today:

37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he[h] breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son[i] of God!” (Mk 15:37-39)

In the year 2004, a film by the name of “Passion of the Christ” was released around Passion Week that year. This film was unlike most of the other Jesus films that were made till then. While the other previous films focused on the Life of Jesus and then the cross towards the end, this one specifically focused on Jesus’ last 12 hours until His crucifixion.

And they tried to realistically capture the horror and pain that Jesus could’ve probably endured on the road to the cross. In terms of reactions to the movie, ended up being the highest-grossing Christian-themed film of all time! Growing up this was one of the few movies that as a family we did end up going to. I remember coming out of the theater disturbed and saddened by the treatment and injustice inflicted on Jesus.

Like me, there were many others all around the world who watched the movie and were so saddened realizing what Jesus had to go through. However, for most people, it stopped feeling sorry for Jesus. And I think the same can be said about many people’s church experience on Good Friday, they’ll read these passages describing the horror and pain of Good Friday and they will probably experience deep sadness and grief when they think about Jesus but it stops there.

And that made me ask this question: “What difference does Good Friday make to us?” I think there can be at least 2 responses to that question. Either we respond by feeling sorry for Jesus or we can respond by worship and surrender. Either we can merely grieve the pain that Jesus went through or we could recognize how that was a gracious gift from God to save us. What’s it going to be for us this evening?

1. Affliction

21 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. (v21-23)

The first thing that stands out for us immediately from this passage is that the journey to cross for Jesus involved extremely intense, agonizing physical affliction. There was a lot of physical pain which needed to be endured. In v21 we see how a man from Cyrene named Simon was forced to carry Jesus’ cross.

Why was that required? Because by that time Jesus was probably weakened and unable to carry his own cross due to the intense scourging and torture that took place the night before. Just a few verses before, it mentions that they had twisted a crown of thorns and put it on his head.

They kept striking his head with a reed which led to a lot of blood loss. And that’s why Jesus wasn’t able to carry his own cross on the way to Golgotha. Furthermore, in v23 it tells us that Jesus declined to drink the wine mixed with myrrh. And I wondered what that meant? As a did some research I realized that that mixture was actually like a drug offered to criminals so that it could numb the pain that they were experiencing.

And the suffering on a cross wasn’t like being killed with a gunshot or sword which causes instant death. Dying on the cross meant slow, agonizing death. Most people would die either by loss of oxygen or exhaustion. That’s why some of the Roman writers of that day criticized this way of torture saying that “No Roman citizen should ever suffer this kind of death on a cross”.

Extreme kind of torture. And then for us to realize that Jesus though He was the Son of God chose to bear the whole brunt of physical affliction for us. He was willing to be physically afflicted for His people.
But not only do we see His affliction but also His

2. Humiliation

24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour[d] when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.[e] (v24-27)

I remember in early 2000 one of the popular trends was wearing a cross around your neck. Many celebrities would sport across as part of their wardrobe. Being influenced by that, even I started wearing a cross around my neck.

And there was this one uncle in the church who once challenged me with a question asking: Is this a fashion statement or a faith statement? Although now in culture, the cross has become a cultural statement, in the ancient Roman world, the cross signified humiliation.

In v24 when it tells us that Jesus’ garments were divided among the soldiers, it was actually a description of being stripped down & vulnerable. And that was one of the main purposes of the cross – was to publicly shame and make an example of the criminal so that no one would dare to do the same the next time. V26 reveals to us what Jesus was charged with.

He was charged with high treason because of the false accusation claiming that He came to challenge the authority of Caesar by making Himself a king of this physical kingdom. This is why V27, it tells us that Jesus was crucified alongside two robbers equating him to the same level as though he committed crimes worthy of capital punishment.

And we realize the gravity of what is happening, Jesus who is the Son of God perfectly glorious and covered in majesty, He who is worthy to be praised by His creation for all time now willingly gives Himself to be humiliated for His people

But not only do we see His affliction and humiliation, we also see His

3. Rejection

29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.

Right through history, we read many inspiring stories of people being able to endure extreme hardship because there were people to stand with them in support. There were people to cheer them on. And when we come to v29-32, we get a picture of how lonely Jesus was at that point. Virtually everyone who interacts with him is rejecting him.

Even those who were being crucified with Jesus reviled Him as well (v32). And who is the One who is being rejected, mocked, and scorned after all? He’s not an ordinary human being, He is the Perfect, Righteous Son of God who existed from eternity past, He is the One who created and formed us and now He’s being rejected by those whom He created.

He came to his own,[b] and his own people[c] did not receive him. (John 1:10) I kept thinking about it, if I were in Jesus’ place, I would’ve quit and abandoned the cross thinking “these people don’t care, why should I care? These people don’t deserve my sacrifice, they deserve to be destroyed because of the way they are treating me”.

And yet we see our Lord Jesus boldly endure the rejection of the people He came to save because He knew there was no other way to save them.

But not only do we see His affliction, His humiliation, and His rejection, we also see His

4. Separation

And when the sixth hour[f] had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.[g] 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (v33-34)

Out of all of the sufferings that Jesus experienced on the cross – physical affliction, humiliation, and rejection, this was the one that was the heaviest to bear. V33 tells us that for 3 whole hours, darkness covered the whole land. And this darkness was a picture of the sins of the entire world which were now being placed on Jesus.

Isa 53:6 – “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one – to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all”.

All our lies, all our lust, all our greed, all of our envy, all of our impatience, all our anger, all of our foul language, all our wickedness, and the judgment for it was placed on the One who knew no sin.

2 Cor 5:21 – For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin…

And as the weight of sin and guilt was placed on Jesus Christ, He was also facing the Holy wrath (Holy anger) of God meant for all of those sins. Because God is Holy and Just, He cannot just overlook sins, He has to punish people for their sins. And to realize that Holy and Just anger was now directed toward His own Son who was paying the price for our sins.

Isa 53:10 – Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him, he has put him to grief, when His soul makes an offering for guilt.

And in v34, Jesus cries out saying “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Why did Jesus say that? God the Father and Jesus the Son experienced intimate fellowship/relationship from eternity past. All that they’ve known was a close relationship, there wasn’t a single moment when they were not in fellowship and favor.

But now when the sin of the world was placed on Him & while the wrath of God was being poured out for those sins, the Father turned His face away from the relationship. The close fellowship and favor that they always enjoyed were cut off because of our sins.

And as I was thinking about this – I just realized that I could never understand what it took for the Father to “crush” the Son for our sins. I realized that I could never understand what it meant for the Father to turn His face away from His Son because of our sins. I realized that I could never understand what it meant for Jesus Christ to be spiritually separated from God. But all I know is that it was done for you and me.

Here is our Savior Jesus Christ who was willing to experience separation from the Father (close community – close intimacy) for His people.

But in this passage, we not only see the affliction, the humiliation, the rejection, and the separation, we also see

5. Provision

37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. (v37)

In v37 and v38 we see a paradox playing out. On one hand, it describes the death of the Son of God. And in v38 it talks about a provision that has been made for us. A new way that has been created for us to enter into the presence of God.

This curtain that is being described in v38 was a long, heavy, thick curtain that separated the holy place from the holiest place in the temple. The holiest place symbolized the Holy presence of God and no one except the high priest could enter that place that also only once a year when he came to offer a sacrifice of atonement for his sins and the sins of the people. There was a clear barrier between the people and God which was indicated by the curtain.

But now that Jesus paid the entire payment and bore the entire wrath meant for our sins, it meant that the way was opened for us to enter into God’s presence. Because Jesus was afflicted for us, we know we can experience relief in the presence of God. Because Jesus was humiliated for us, we know we won’t be shamed in the presence of God.

Because Jesus was rejected for us, we know we will be accepted in the presence of God. Because Jesus was separated from God for us, we know that we will never be cut off from the presence of God. And that’s why the writer of Hebrews uses these words to describe how we should approach God: with boldness, confidence, and full assurance!

I want to stop and ask us a question today: When you think about approaching God daily, what are the thoughts and feelings that run through your mind? Is it fear of facing punishment? Is it the uncertainty of how God’s going to respond to you? Is it wondering if God is going to shame you or reject you? And that’s why Good Friday is Good news for us.

Because if you have turned from your ways and put your trust in Jesus’ perfect life and death for you, then you can be assured on the promise of God’s very word, that you can approach him with boldness, confidence and full assurance.

But not only did Jesus endure affliction, humiliation, rejection, separation and make provision for us, it also demands our

6. Confession

39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he[h] breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son[i] of God! (v39)

What’s astonishing is that it’s not a Jew who is saying this, it’s a Gentile, pagan worshipping, Roman soldier who says this. When the centurion saw this, he recognized something else was going on in contrast to all the other executions that he witnessed. His response was in worship where he said “Truly this man is the Son of God”.

And I want to return back to the question that we asked right at the beginning: what difference does Good Friday make to you and me? At this very point, either we could be indifferent saying that this doesn’t concern me. Or we could feel sorry for what Jesus had to go through and stop there. Or we could be grateful and filled with a heart of worship because we realize what was done on that cross was for us!

Sometime back at work I went through this phase where I ended up making back-to-back errors at work. And these were not small errors, but they were big errors. Stakes were very high and the repercussions could be very severe.

Especially after the second error, I was filled with so much fear, shame, and confusion as I awaited what was going to happen to me. And at that point, my boss called me up and had a conversation with me. And by then I had already resigned to the fact that I was going to bear the brunt, and to my shock, he told me that he was going to take the responsibility on himself.

And my immediate response was “Why? I did this, I deserved it. It’s not fair for you to take the blame”. And he just responded back to me by saying “that’s what managers are for, we take responsibility for our team”.

And my heart was filled with so much gratitude because I experienced kindness that I never before experienced in the corporate world. And at that very moment, God just brought this to mind “now you’ve just seen what grace looks like in your workplace, now think about what it might have been for Jesus – the Son of God to bear the entire brunt for your sins”.

And I can remember how my heart was filled with so much of gratitude for Jesus? I think this passage confronts us with the question – what difference does Good Friday make to us?

And even as you’re pondering on that question – let me also add one last thing and close with this thought. In v40-41, it mentions the names of a few women. And the gospel writers mention their names very specifically and intentionally because they would end up being the first witnesses of the risen Christ 3 days later.

And so let no one think that the story of our Mighty and God and Savior ended in a tomb. Sunday is coming when He rose victoriously from the grave and showed us that He is the Living God who will be with us forever – not even death could hold Him back.

We are preaching through a series called “Our Promise keeping God”, as we are studying from the book of Joshua.

Last week we went to chapters 12 & 13, today we will cover chapters 14 through 19 and I’ve titled the sermon is “Responding to God’s Faithfulness”.

The context of these chapters is that Israel has conquered most of the land God promised them and now the land is been divided and distributed among the different tribes.

As we read through this account, what stands out to us is the Faithfulness of God towards his chosen people, **God keeping His promise**.

Let me remind you that God was showing this favor to Israel not because they were special people who looked different than others or had some special qualities about them – But purely because of his love for them and for the purpose of his glory.

7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers – Deuteronomy 7:7-8

The people of Israel were just like us – God-haters, rebellious, selfish, mean, idol worshippers, and corrupt in all their ways, yet because they were God’s chosen people, people whom he had predestined to be his children before the foundations of the earth was build – He pursued them and continued to shower his loving-kindness – again, and again, and again.

Today we all have gathered here to worship that same living God – the God of Abraham, Issac & Jacob. Brothers & Sisters, please don’t think of it as a coincidence – We are here only because of his loving-kindness towards us – because before the foundations of the earth were laid he predestined you and me to be his beloved children – We are here because he pursued us, his loving-kindness, grace, and mercy were upon us. Not because we are special in any way, but because God chose to be faithful to us.

In chapters 14 through 19, we see God keeping his part of the promise to Israel as he is alloting them the land- so that they can settle and make a living after many years of pain and oppression. Watching God do that should fill our hearts with hope and joy.

Why? – Today, some of you may be experiencing pain, oppression, failure, and defeat – but even in the midst of the chaos, we see God’s faithfulness in small little blessings he brings our way, just like he showed his faithfulness when they were in the wilderness.

Last year when Jane was admitted to the hospital, going through the surgery, I remember one night we decided to count our blessings and there was an unending list of things we could thank God for – our children, their health, provision of finances to meet our needs, our families who stood and prayed for us, church family who loved and cared for us, friends all around the world who showered their love etc, this list was too long.

Yes, he shows his faithfulness and grace in many ways, but the greatest of all blessings we get to enjoy is the freedom in Christ. While we were sinners, the God who created us, choose us & loved us sent his only son Jesus to save us from eternal death and give us eternal life. Jesus came and lived the righteous and obedient life we were supposed to live, fulfilled God’s righteous laws, and exchanged it on the cross with our unrighteousness, granting us freedom from the penalty of sin.

Yes, of course, the Israelites were pleased with the good gifts God was granting them but the greatest gift they were experiencing was God’s presence dwelling among them, the ark of God that symbolized the presence of God was moving with them, it allowed them to periodically offer sacrifices and receive God’s forgiveness.

As Israel was been blessed by God, what was God expecting in return?

As we have been experiencing his faithfulness today, in Christ, have you wondered what is God expecting from us in return?

I believe we can find two clues in these 6 chapters.

Accepting God’s providence & provision with joy and contentment

If we consider the total mass of the land that was distributed among the people, I believe not every piece of the land had the same properties, some were fertile land right next to a stream of water, some were on the hills, some were in the forest, etc.

Therefore, most of the land distribution was not decided based on what Joshua or the leaders thought was right, but it was chosen by casting lot. It was God who decided who gets what? So that there was no quarrel among them.

Joshua 14:2** – Their inheritance was by lot, just as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses for the nine and one-half tribes.

And among the twelve tribes, the tribe of Levi was not even allotted any land.

Joshua 14:4b – And no portion was given to the Levites in the land, but only cities to dwell in, with their pasturelands for their livestock and their substance.

Why? Because they were set aside to be servants in God’s temple. Their portion came from the sacrifices that were offered in the house of God.

And in all this providence & provision God made for the people of Israel he expected them to be content, satisfied and joyful.

Brothers & Sisters, isn’t that what God would expect from us as well today.

The parable of the talents narrated by Jesus in Matthew 25:14-30 tells that not everyone has been given the same measure of talents.

15 – To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.

The parable also tells us that when the master comes back he will ask for an account, and he will search the attitude of our hearts by measuring our faithfulness in handling the good gifts he has offered us.

We accept the providence & provision of God with joy and contentment because we know he is a fair God and he shows no partiality towards us in any way.

In Joshua 17:14-18, we see an interesting incident where Joshua characterizes God’s fair heart towards the people of Joseph.

14 Then the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am a numerous people, since all along the Lord has blessed me?” **15** And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up by yourselves to the forest, and there clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” **16** The people of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us. Yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have chariots of iron, both those in Beth-shean and its villages and those in the Valley of Jezreel.” **17** Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are a numerous people and have great power. You shall not have one allotment only, **18** but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders. For you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.”

In the parable of the vineyard which Jesus narrated in Matthew 20:1-16, we see the owner gives the same wage to every worker of the day, even to those who worked only half a day. The last shall be first and the first shall be last.

Beloved, God chooses to distribute what belongs to him according to his perfect will for us and we expect ourselves to be content and happy within at all times.

In fact, what he wants us to treasure the most in our hearts is His son Jesus, and the spiritual fulfillment and satisfaction he gives to us every day of our life.

The world we live in today is driven by competition that creates cravings to want and have more than what’s already been given to us by our loving Father.

The Internet and Social media is the tool the enemy is using to create such cravings and desires, distracting us from experiencing and living within the means God has already provided for us.

Of course, we can’t run away from the new technology advancements, they are good in some sense and do add value and exposes us to many good things which were not accessible earlier.

I have been there many times, and I know what it is like.

And therefore, to be rooted and grounded in the Gospel is much more needed & important for us in today’s generation. Because the Gospel opens our eyes to the brokenness of this world and reminds us of our true identity in Christ. It reminds us that our identity is not in the things we possess or the places we live in, but in Christ alone is our hope, he is the only true treasure we need for the longings of our soul.

1 Timothy 6:6-12 – But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Brothers & sisters, in response to God’s faithfulness to us, let us learn to accept his providence and provision with joy and contentment.

The second expectation he would have from us is to ..

To walk in obedience to his word

Brothers & sisters, Obedience matters to God.

I want you to read with me Joshua 14:6-14

6 Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-Barnea concerning you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. 8 But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; **yet I wholly followed the Lord my God. 9 And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. 12 So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.”

13 Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. 14 Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba.

In these verses, we see Caleb’s obedient and willing heart to serve the Lord. He reminds Joshua of the times when he obeyed the servant of the Lord Moses’s instruction to wholeheartedly, and the promise Moses made to him. And in verse 11 he again expresses his willingness to be sent for war if need be. In return, Joshua blesses him and allocates him the land his heart desired.

In response to God’s faithfulness to us he expects Obedience from us.

Why? Because …

• Obedience to God proves our love for Him (1 John 5:2-3)

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

• Demonstrates our faithfulness to Him (1 John 2:3-6)

3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him
ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

• Glorifies Him in the world (1 Peter 2:12)

12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

• Opens avenues of blessing for us (John 13:17)

17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

My dear friends, we have all seen and experienced God’s faithfulness to us in innumerable ways, the greatest one is the redemptive work of Christ on our behalf.

Then,

• Why is it difficult to flee from sin when it’s easy now since we are not in bondage to sin?
• Why is it difficult to stop engaging in the evil & lustful thoughts in our minds when we can engage with God?
• Why is it difficult to turn away from that dishonorable images, social media posts, reels, and videos when we can turn away and imagine the cross of Calvary where our loving savior died for our sins and iniquities?
• Why is it difficult to forgive one another when we have received forgiveness from our heavenly father?
• Why is it difficult to love when we have received the agape love of God in abundance because of Jesus?
• Why is it difficult to follow him and do his will when Christ sacrificed his heavenly glory and came to dwell among us, to be ridiculed, dishonored, tortured, and killed for our sake?
• Why is it difficult to confess our sins to one another and repent when he had surrounded us with brothers and sisters, elders and leaders to watch over our lives?

Isn’t it because we are forgetting to value and cherish his faithfulness towards us.

Because we choose to ignore him.

• When we wake up in the morning we choose to pick up our phones instead of going on our knees and meditating on his spoken word to us.
• When we are confronted with challenges and setbacks in our life, workplace, schools & colleges we choose to apply our own wisdom and understanding instead of seeking God and his will.
• When we go to bed, instead of closing our eyes thinking and thanking God for the day we choose to close our eyes on the last movie or television program or something on the mobile we watched.

Friends, our obedience matters to God, and unlike the Israelites, we have been given the Spirit of His Son Jesus to help us in these matters.

Romans 8:1-4 Paul writes

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

As we now partake in the communion, let’s remember his faithfulness towards us.

Good morning church! Wanted to welcome everyone who has joined us in-person and also online this morning. How is everyone doing? One of the things that we really want to see happen more than anything else is to see our hearts hear and respond to God’s Word this morning. If you’ve been tracking with us at the Gathering, you would’ve figured that we’re going through a series titled “Our Promise Keeping God” from the book of Joshua.

We’re almost half way through our series, and now we’ve arrived at chapter 12 & 13 where we’ll see how the Israelites are ready to inherit the Promised Land.Before we begin, would you join me as we pray and ask God to help us understand and apply this passage to our lives today?

What comes to our mind when we think about the word “inheritance”? In Hindi they use the word “viraasat” to describe inheritance. We’ll probably think of property, wealth, possessions being handed down to one’s children or successors. Interestingly in the Bible, when God refers to the Promised Land, He refers to it as an inheritance that He’s kept for the Israelites.

What we will see in today’s passage is that the people of God will need “grace” to be able to enjoy their inheritance. They’ll need God’s grace from start to end. It’s a “gracious inheritance”. But it’s not just the Israelites who need grace, but the Bible tells us that in Jesus we have been given an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

This inheritance is kept in heaven for us (1 Pet 1:4) and so I hope that we too realize through the course of this time that we can only enjoy and unlock our spiritual eternal inheritance by grace only.

So 3 things which will help us enjoy our gracious inheritance:

1. We need grace to receive our inheritance (Josh 12)

One of the things that will stand out to you from chapter 12 is that there are a bunch of names of kings and places. If you’re like me who is not too much into history, it’s sometimes hard to read through a passage that’s only talking about names and places. But we need to ask ourselves, why did God put this passage in Scripture in the first place? What was God trying to tell the Israelites at that time and all of us now through chapter 12?

By reminding them of 33 kings that were defeated, 33 cities who had armies much larger and greater than that of the Israelites, and this generous area of land which is flowing with milk and honey, God wanted His people to recognize that they needed His grace to be able to receive the inheritance.

Sometimes it’s hard for us to understand this concept of grace, because we are so used to seeing how people get rewarded for their competence in the world today. So the Israelites would’ve done something right which is why God gave them an inheritance, we might argue. Maybe they did something significant or maybe they were more righteous than the others. Let’s quickly look at these two aspects.

• They weren’t given an inheritance because they were significant

6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers (Deut 7:6-8)

• They weren’t given an inheritance because they were righteous

5 Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. (Deut 9:5)

In fact in the 40 year journey through the wilderness, the lives of the Israelites were not defined by faithfulness and loyalty to God but rather by stubbornness, rebellion and constant grumbling.

And so it was pretty clear that it wasn’t the significance or righteousness which made God chose the Israelites but rather His love and covenant promises which were made to Israel’s forefathers centuries before this.
How does this apply to us today? It could be that right now we are going through a season where we see momentary victories over certain sinful habits or maybe we are experiencing a season of spiritual growth, and it’s very easy for us to pat ourselves in the back and think that either it’s because of something significant that we’ve accomplished in life, or that we’re special in some way or because we are more righteous than some others that God has chosen us and given us an eternal inheritance.

It’s purely because of God’s love and His covenant promises in Jesus which is why God gives us an eternal inheritance. Some others might listen to this and think – “Hey I’m not really going through a season of spiritual victory and growth. In fact it’s the opposite where spiritual life seems like a daily struggle where I find myself go back to those sinful patterns”.

And if you’re in that place, let me tell you that God’s grace also addresses your need right now. Just think about it – right now God is not demanding you to do something significant to be able to come to Him, neither is He asking you to try to be righteous on your own and then earn the right to come back to Him.

No, God’s saying that His choice to give you an inheritance is purely based on His love and His commitment to you in Jesus. And that should free you to realize that you can come to Him and repent today.

But not only do we need grace to receive our inheritance, we also

2. We need grace to keep our inheritance

13 Yet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day. (Josh 13:13)

This particular verse might seem a little out of place in the middle of chapters that have spoken at length about the Israelites uncompromising obedience and many successful victories. And the immediate question that probably comes into our minds is why would the Israelites not drive out the Geshurites and Maachathites?

Maybe the Israelites thought “these Geshurites and Maachathites don’t seem to be causing too much of an issue here. They are not like the other nations who gang up together and start a war against us. They are minding their own business and plus we are already comfortable with the land that we’ve already conquered, so why simply get into another unnecessary battle here.

What we see here is that although the Israelites became very comfortable with the land, but God was more concerned about their hearts. The reason why God wanted the Israelites to drive out these other nations from among them was because these other nations would end up influencing them to follow their wicked and idol worshipping lifestyle.

That was the main problem. God knew that if the Israelites entertained the Canaanite nations, they would forsake the God who redeemed them, and who by grace gave them this land as an inheritance. God knew that their affections would be turned away from God.

And I think this same issue speaks into our hearts today as we tend to become very comfortable with the level of obedience and holiness that we presently have. If you had to honestly answer this question in your heart, what would you say are some areas in your life where you’re aware that you let the guards down in your pursuit of holiness and holiness?

Maybe it’s busyness – maybe you’re just too busy with a lot of stuff that you don’t have time to do the things that actually matter – things that help keep your affections toward Jesus like spending time in God’s Word and prayer. And we forget how these spiritual disciplines are necessary to fuel our affections for Jesus.

Or maybe it’s the content that we consume – we convince ourselves that we are strong believers and we are able to discern what’s right from wrong, but deep down that’s beginning to impact your affections for Jesus.

So before we get into the action points, I want us to realize that it’s first and foremost a heart problem & that’s why we need our Savior Jesus even today. We preach the gospel to ourselves daily because our heart needs the rescuing work of Jesus today.

Do we need a resolve to address this problem of getting too comfortable with our current level of obedience / disobedience? Yes, we need resolve but let’s understand that none of us has the resolve. We desperately need Jesus to change our hearts today and that’s why we pray. Because we need grace to keep our inheritance as well. If it were left to our ability of keeping the inheritance, we would’ve lost it already.

But not only do we need grace to receive, and not only do we need grace to keep but we also need

3. We need grace to see God as our inheritance

33 But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the Lord God of Israel is their inheritance, just as he said to them. (v33)

In the midst of all the land allotments, what’s kind of interesting is the instructions that are given to the tribe of Levi. Unlike all the other tribes, they are told that they won’t have a physical space for inheritance. Their Lord is their inheritance!

Which meant that they had to be dependent on God for their provision & protection daily. In terms of provision, a portion of the sacrifices of the people were to provide for the tribe of Levi. The other aspect about our inheritance is that it’s something that we enjoy. And so when God is telling the Levites that He is their inheritance, He is telling them that out of every other tribe – the Levites in a special way will be able to experience joy while ministering in the OT tabernacle or temple.

I’m not sure what went through the minds of the Levites as they saw all their fellow Israelite tribes being allotted lands, but I’m sure they would’ve wrestled with this question – “Though I don’t have a physical land, would I count this as my highest privilege and greatest joy to know that God is my inheritance? Would that be enough for me?”
And that’s a challenging question which can challenge us today as well, “if we didn’t get our physical needs met as we expected, if we didn’t get the healing that we prayed for, if we didn’t get the job that we prayed for, if we didn’t get the person to marry as we prayed for, if we didn’t get the comfortable life and success as we hoped, if none of this were granted to us, would we still count it as our highest privilege and greatest joy to know that the Lord is our inheritance and possession? Would we say that this is enough and satisfying for us?”
In Matt 13:44 Jesus tells us of a parable about the kingdom of heaven. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

And it’s so interesting, the only reason why the man was able to joyfully sell all that He had to buy the field was because He understood the value and preciousness of that treasure.

When we realize that the God of the universe, who is Holy and Perfect beyond measure, who is Powerful and awesome in deeds, Loving and merciful in character chose to come near us (though we didn’t deserve it because we were sinners), and when we realize that God didn’t spare anything – in fact He gave up His Son on the cross to die for our wickedness and sins. And Jesus died and was buried and on the third day He rose from the dead so that whoever would believe in Jesus, would now receive this inheritance which is what – God Himself! When we realize that this is what God did to give Himself to us, then we can say that “My God is enough”.