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What is the church?

This Sunday, we are starting with a new series called “Why Church?”.

We have been meeting together for the last 7 years as a community. We started as a bible study group with just 6 to 8 people meeting at a home and then moved to a hall where we grew in numbers. For all these 7 years, it has been our joy to serve you.

In recent months, as Jane and I were travelling, meeting, and connecting with people from other countries, we had several occasions to talk about you all. And honestly, every time I think or talk about, you’ll it makes my heart glad.

I remember when my family joined the bible study group, I never thought of becoming or wanting to be a Pastor or an Elder, I simply wanted to serve. But there came to a point when the Lord was leading me to step into this new role, and so I obeyed His calling. Soon after, Jinson also stepped up and ever since God has been faithful in enabling us to lead and serve this community voluntarily while Jinson pursues his full-time job and I pursue my business.

Looking back, I can only see God’s faithfulness, in the way he has led us, protected us, increased us, and he continues to do so.

And right now, we are at a juncture where we need to bring some structure in the way we operate and continue to follow God’s calling in fulfilling his mission of “proclaiming His excellencies by making disciples”. Therefore, we are introducing the process of ‘Church Membership”.

But before we get into that, it’s important for us to have a healthy perspective on what the bible tells us about the church.

Why?

Because there is a varied understanding of the church and its functions among people today, which may or may not be rooted in scripture. And therefore, it is our responsibility to show you from the Word, the purpose of the church as intended and designed by God.

As far as possible, we want to get rid of all man-made ideas, assumptions & rules about the church and align ourselves to understand it from God’s perspective.

In the next couple of weeks, we will talk about

  • What is the church & why does it exist according to the scripture?
  • What does the scripture tell us about a healthy church?
  • What does leadership look like in the church and how does it function?

And finally, on the basis of the above 3 topics, why is Church Membership important?

So, if you are genuinely interested and serious about your relationship with God and one another, I would request you not to miss any of these sermons, or else you will only end up with partial knowledge and incomplete understanding that won’t be helpful.

Today, my job is to show you from the scripture “What is the church and why does it exist?”

A church is not a building or a place, but it is people.

The bible was originally written in Greek, and the word ‘church’ used in the Greek language is the word ‘ekklesia’, and ‘ekklesia’ means ‘an assembly or ‘the called-out ones’.

And the meaning of ‘the called-out ones’ specifically refers to those who have heard, understood, and embraced the truth of the gospel.

What is the gospel truth that I am referring to?

The truth that answers the most important & vital questions about life and its purpose.

  • Who am I?
  • Why do I exist?
  • What’s the purpose of life?
  • Why is there sin & suffering in the world?
  • How can we attain freedom from sin & suffering?
  • How can we experience joy and peace in life?

Every human being on this earth seeks these answers, and we come up with our own philosophies and explanation. How do we know that our explanations and philosophies are true? We only know when it ultimately fulfils the deepest longings of our hearts and fills our life with joy, peace and contentment.

So, let me answer the above questions from the bible and see if it resonates with you?

Who am I? – We are God’s image-bearers

The bible tells us that it was God who made the universe, the stars, the galaxies, and the planets. And it is God who sustains them. So far, no man has an explanation for the existence of these massive objects that are floating around us.

But scientists can tell you this – that if a minutest disturbance or change occurs in the setting of these objects then the earth will be evaporated in a millisecond. Nobody on this earth can deny the existence of a super-power.

**Romans 1:20 – *“*For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”

The bible then goes on to tell us that it was God who made the earth, the creatures, and everything in it. He then made man and woman in his image and likeness.

Genesis 1:27“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

So, to answer our question, who we are, unlike every other creature on earth, we have been uniquely designed because we are the image-bearers of God himself.

The reason we are creative is because God is a creative God. The reason we have emotions is because God has emotions. The reason we are wise and knowledgeable is because God is wise and all knowing. The reason we love and long for love is because our God is love.

Why do we exist? & what’s the purpose of life? – We exist to glorify the one who made us and by choice enjoy fellowship and friendship with him and to live in peace and harmony with him.

Colossians 1:16 – “All things were created by him and for him.”

He created us in his image so that we could share in his overflowing love, grace and goodness through our relationship with the Trinity – Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

God did not need the world or need people because God has no lack and no need. Instead, God is so full of all that is good, that it overflows and spills out of him. His very nature is to share his goodness, grace and love.

He created us out of love for the purpose of sharing love. We were created to love God and each other. Additionally, when God created us, he created us for good works so that we might experience His goodness and reflect his image in the way we care for the world and for each other. We were created without flaw or sin and God intended that we live this way eternally.

Then “Why are we suffering and not enjoying peace and harmony?” – Because we sinned against him.

The Bible tells us that the first man and women he created, instead of walking in obedience and harmony with God, misused their ‘will’ to choose sin and thereby, rebelled against him by disobeying his command. Therefore, they were cut off from their relationship with their creator God.

Romans 5:19 – ****Adam disobeyed God and caused many others to be sinners.

Because Adam disobeyed, we all became sinners in the eyes of God. And according to God’s law, the penalty for sin is death.

Therefore, it’s important to understand that our suffering, in general, is not a consequence of our present actions or circumstances but it is ultimately because of our broken relationship with God.

How can we then attain freedom and peace with God? & How can we attain freedom from sin and suffering? – – by repentance & faith in Jesus

The bible tells us that we can never attain freedom and peace with God with our efforts. None of our good works or our religious activities can bridge the broken relationship with God. Why? because his standard of holiness is far beyond our reach. And only He can draw us near to Him.

The bible tells us 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.”

The bible tells us that when we broke our friendship with him, he persisted in love. Yes, he was angry with us, but his love for us was even greater. Therefore, to set us free from the punishment of sin, he sent his son Jesus, as a human, to live the obedient and God-honouring life we were supposed to live and take the punishment of our sin on himself and die the most horrible death on the cross.

By doing so, the bible says, Jesus fulfilled what the law required from us, death. And in return gave us the promise of a new life. A life free from the bondage of sin and eternal suffering.

Romans 5:19-21

“Adam disobeyed God and caused many others to be sinners. But Jesus obeyed him and will make many people acceptable to God.

The Law came, so that the full power of sin could be seen. Yet where sin was powerful, God’s gift of undeserved grace was even more powerful. 21 Sin ruled by means of death. But God’s gift of grace now rules, and God has accepted us because of Jesus Christ our Lord. This means that we will have eternal life.”

The term used in the bible for this good news is ‘Gospel’

So, how can we attain freedom?

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.”

We turn to God by believing in Jesus and his finished work for us on the cross.

That’s it, nothing else is expected from you and me. It is purely because of his grace and our faith in Jesus that we are accepted into his kingdom.

Repent of our sins and believe in Jesus with all our heart mind and soul – And we will be saved. This is what the bible tells us.

The salvation we receive by doing so is called ‘Justification’. And this salvation is not just valid on this earth but in eternity with God in heaven. Once our sin was leading us towards hell but now, because of God’s gracious provision of his son, we will spend eternity in heaven is what the bible tells us.

Now coming to our final question

“How can I experience joy and peace in life?” – by loving Jesus with all our heart, mind and soul.

We experience joy and peace by loving Jesus more than anything or anyone in life. Consider him as the most precious gift we have ever received. When we do that, his love will then compel us to walk in obedience and pursue righteousness all the days of our lives. And that is how we will continually experience joy and peace in life.

Daily reminding ourselves of the Gospel that saved us and changed our status from orphans to the children of the most high God and included into his family.

Now, I know many of you sitting here have already repented and put your faith in Jesus and experience the loving-kindness of God in their lives. You have heard, understood, and embraced the truth of the Gospel, and therefore you are part of God’s church.

Since we are talking about church membership, the first eligibility is that you accept and consider yourself a sinner saved by grace through the finished work of Christ on the cross.

If you have truly done that in the presence of God then God knows your heart and he has already affirmed it, but to men, who cant read your mind or see your heart, we declare in various ways –

#1 – By water baptism – Proclaiming and declaring yourself as a Christian in the presence of God and many witnesses, baptism means to be fully immersed in the water signifying that our old self is buried with Christ and coming out of it as a new self.

#2 – In regularly participating in the Lord’s supper – Participating in the breaking of bread and drinking the vine, remembering Christ’s body that was broken for us and his blood spilled for us so that we can be set free from sin and condemnation.

Now, Church membership is also a manner in which we show our commitment to the local body of Christ, in giving ourselves to be held accountable, to be instructed and discipled in the Lord, to participate in the kingdom work, and to walk with one another as a family united in Christ. Even though the word ‘church membership’ may not be explicitly mentioned in the bible, it is biblical. We will cover that in the last topic of this series.

At the end of this series, we will be handing over a church membership form to you and ask a couple of questions like –

  • GOD: WHO MADE US, AND TO WHOM ARE WE ACCOUNTABLE?
  • MAN: WHAT IS OUR PROBLEM? ARE WE IN TROUBLE AND WHY?
  • CHRIST: WHAT IS GOD’S SOLUTION TO OUR PROBLEM? WHAT HAS HE DONE TO SAVE US FROM IT?
  • RESPONSE: HOW DO I COME TO BE INCLUDED IN THE SALVATION OFFERED BY JESUS? WHAT MAKES THIS GOOD NEWS FOR ME?
  • WHAT WAS YOUR LIFE LIKE BEFORE CHRIST?
  • HOW DID YOU COME TO KNOW CHRIST?
  • WHAT IS YOUR LIFE LIKE AFTER COMING TO KNOW CHRIST?

To those present here, if you have heard this gospel for the first time, and you’ve clearly understood it as it was explained today, then, all you have to do is repent before God and put your trust in Jesus.

You might want to do that in private or in the presence of another person, that’s your choice, but do come and meet us, if you have not clearly understood or have questions, we would love to help you, pray with you, encourage, and talk with you more about church membership.

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To live by the spirit – Romans 8:5-8

Welcome

The passage I’m preaching from today is Romans 8:5-8. I’ve titled my sermon “To live by the Spirit”

Why Roman 8:5-8?

Acts 29

The Epistle of Romans has always been very helpful in helping me understand the basic gospel doctrines, that’s also because it was written by Paul to help the churches in Rome grasp the whole truth of the gospel and its practical outworking in the life of a believer.

In the first couple of chapters, he explains what the gospel is and how we are saved by grace through faith, saved from eternal death to eternal life.

And then, he goes on to remind us that the believer’s pursuit of God doesn’t stop with salvation; it continues as each of us is sanctified—made holy—as we persist in following Him.

Romans 6:17-18 – ”But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,  and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”

In our passage from Romans 8:5-8, Paul is helping us understand the work of God by which he continues to sanctify us by explaining the life in the Spirit with life in the flesh.

What he is particularly implying in these verses is that every born-again believer ought to set their minds on the things of the spirit and that when we set our minds on the flesh we are not pleasing God resulting in not letting him do his satisfying work in our lives that will eventually bring life and peace in our lives.

In my sermon today, I want to share 3 reasons why I believe Paul is saying this –

Our walking in the Spirit is evidence that we have been justified.

Romans 8:5 states ***”*For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”

In these verses, we see a clear distinction being made between those who are saved and yet to be saved.

When God made us he intended us to live a life of fellowship and friendship with him, to love him, worship him, honour him and fulfil his purpose on this earth. Instead of walking in humble obedience, the first man and woman, Adam and Eve sinned against God and the wrath of God came upon us.

Tun with me to

In Romans 5:12 Paul writes Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

Today, what makes this life on earth so hard and full of pain and sorrow is not the mere consequences of our present actions and unpleasant circumstances in our lives, but it is the result of our broken relationship with God that took place in the garden of Eden.

But even though we sinned, rebelled, and broke our friendship with God, God remained faithful and continued to pursue us through generations making provisions for us to know him & have fellowship with him, and eventually, made a provision for us to mend our broken relationship with him by offering his only son Jesus to take our place on the cross paying the penalty of our sins.

Let’s read …

Romans 5:15-16For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.

In response to God’s grace and mercy, when we confess & repent of our sins, and trust in Jesus and his finished work on the cross, we are fully accepted, loved, and welcomed into his family. And what a wonderful privilege it is.

Galatians 4:4-6 – *But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ****to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ***And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

In Romans 8, verse 5, a clear distinction is made between those who live according to the flesh and those who live according to the spirit. Those who live according to the spirit are clearly those who’ve confessed their sins and have put their trust in Jesus. Therefore, our walking in the spirit is evidence that we have been justified.

Brothers & sisters, this is a very serious question we need to ask ourselves. Just because we are born in a Christian family, or being brought up in a Christian surrounding, doesn’t affirm that we are a believer. Just because we’ve said a prayer of confession in the presence of a priest or pastor doesn’t affirm we are a believer. Just because we go to church, sing Christian songs and read a few verses in the bible daily doesn’t affirm that we are a believer.

The mark of a true believer, according to the scripture is a life where the spirit of God is alive and active. Actively revealing and increasing the awareness of our sinfulness, actively revealing and increasing our awareness of God’s Holiness – and eventually leading our hearts to look at the work of Christ on the cross that helps bridge the gap between both these realities in our life.

All other Christian activities we do are good and needed but at the core of our lives if we’re not been led by the spirit in the manner mentioned above that we have to ask a serious question to ourselves. Am I really saved?

If not, then I urge you, brothers and sisters, to think seriously about it and needed please come and talk to us. We would love to sit and talk with you.

The second reason Paul is implying that a believer should set their mind on the spirit is that…

A mindset on the flesh is hostile to God & leads to death.

Romans 8:6a, 7For to set the mind on the flesh is death. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

Hostile to God means “In opposition to him, rejecting him & violating his commands”.

Here’s one way we can know the difference. If we are continually living a life that opposes God, rejects him and violates his commands then it is clearly an indication that the spirit of God is not alive and active.

But for believers, in whom the spirit is active.

The reality is that a lot of times our minds are so focused on the carnal things of the world. The mind is the battlefield where the flesh and the spirit are at war because it does not want to be crucified and surrendered to Christ, our King.

We see here though that when we set our minds on the things of the flesh, that is when we are carnally minded, gratifying the sinful desires of our flesh, whether physical or emotional and thereby, being in rebellion against God, only leads to death.

Consider what we value as important because if what we value is carnal things and we don’t concern ourselves with the eternal things that matter, it’s because we haven’t let Jesus take HIs rightful place in our hearts.

Paul tells us here to examine ourselves and be honest before God!

In Colossians 1:21 Paul says – We were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds” – describing our past sinful lives.

But now that we are in faith, and in the process of sanctification, we still do have tendencies of opposing God, rejecting his instructions, and pursuing our own desires. In doing so we act and respond to life as though our minds are still set on the flesh forgetting these lifeless pursuits that only leads to emptiness, discontentment, and shallow Christian living.

Often times we see such patterns and habits in our lives that lead us to pursue the things of the flesh, whether it’s comfort and pleasure or love for money, or desire for power over others.

But after spending all our time and energy, when we reach dead ends, experiencing broken hearts, broken relationships, and failures in such pursuits – only to realize how meaningless they were, and failed to give the satisfaction and fulfilment they promised.

Think about the guilty feelings after watching porn, or after committing sexual sin.

The empty feeling after getting drunk with alcohol and after giving in to the world’s ways of pursuing the false pleasures.

Think about the loneliness of life that hits us when we only are only pursuing wealth and money instead of treasuring the people in our lives, loving them & nurturing them in the Lord.

Paul is implying that a believer should set their mind on the spirit because in doing so we are reminding ourselves that we are not hostile to God anymore but are in complete agreement with his holy presence and are open to obeying him and walking in his ways because we truly believe that only pursuing God and his kingdom will give us the ultimate joy and satisfaction in life.

The third reason why Paul implies that a believer should set their mind on the spirit is that…

A mindset on the spirit brings life and peace & is pleasing to God

**Romans 8:6b – *”*but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace”

As believers, we have not just changed our status from “death” to “life.” but we have changed roads from “the road to death” to “the path of life.”

As the Holy Spirit now indwells in us, The Spirit helps us pray and intercedes for us in accordance with God’s will. He also leads us into repentance and produces a fruit of righteousness as we yield ourselves to Him. Believers are to submit to the will of God and walk in the Spirit.

Romans 8:26-27 – In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Here Paul is saying that as now we have been given a new life in the Spirit (John 3:6), we must continue to walk every day in the Spirit by submitting to Him, being sensitive to His leading in our lives, and allowing Him to be the driving force in influencing us in all aspects.

Where the flesh leads to death, meaningless and joyless pursuits, the spirit leads us to enjoy and experience life in abundance How? Because when we walk each day in the Spirit, we become fruit bearers, walking in love, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control, and peace that passeth all understanding.

In our renewed state when we set our minds on the spirit and focus on God, he enables us to walk in obedience and seek his will which eventually will glorify his name on this earth.

Therefore, in the light of the above three points, for an unbeliever in Christ – I urge that as you desire freedom from the oppression of sin and want to experience true joy and fulfilment from life, you repent of your sins and accept Christ as your personal Lord and saviour.

And for a believer, to daily remember the Gospel and point your hearts to Christ and his finished work on the cross & lean on to the spirit’s leading in your life at all times.

Conclusion

As I conclude, I hope and believe that you have fully understood the difference between living in the flesh and living in the spirit and that you will daily remind yourself of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit working in us that enables us to fight against the temptation and struggles of the flesh and live a victorious life in Christ.

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What does it mean for us to serve God – Joshua 23 & 24

Good morning church! Just wanted to welcome everyone who has joined us this morning both in person at the hall and also online. Our prayer is that all of us would meet Jesus in a very real and personal way this morning as He speaks to us through His Word. If you’ve been tracking with us at the Gathering, we’ve been going through this series from the book of Joshua titled “Our Promise Keeping God” over the last 5 months. Today we arrive at the final sermon from this series as we cover the last 2 chapters of Joshua.  As we’ve just read, these 2 chapters are the final recorded sermons that Joshua preaches to the people of Israel. I’ll read a small excerpt from Joshua 23:4-8:

4 Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. 5 The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. 6 Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, 7 that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, 8 but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day. (v4-8)

(Pray)

One of the things that’s common to most organizations is that they’ll regularly schedule policy training where they’ll give you an overview of the company, they’ll talk about the company culture and then they’ll also list down their expectations on how you are expected to conduct yourself during your tenure as an employee of the firm.  And alongside the expectations, they’ll probably also mention what would happen if there was a breach or violation of the company policy. And this is something that isn’t just done on the first day of joining the firm, but it is done frequently with employees. And it’s interesting how in similar ways the Israelites are being given a sort of regular policy training. The only big difference is that this is not merely talking about serving a human organization or a human master, this is much more serious because it’s talking about serving God! And even as we try to understand what that meant for the Israelites, let’s not forget that this is a totally relevant question for us today because it’s not just the pastors, evangelists or people in ministry who are called as servants of God, every person who calls himself a follower & believer in Jesus is called to be a servant of God. And if we are all servants of God, then we ought to know “what it means for us to serve God” “What is the policy document for serving God” “What are the expectations of being servants of God”? To help us answer this question, today’s passage gives us 3 points:  

  1. The choice to serve God – we all have a choice to serve

14 “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh 24:14-15)

One of the most familiar Christian plaques or verses that’s put up in people’s homes is v15 which says
“as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. Now that’s definitely a nice, encouraging verse to be put up in a home but it sometimes is easy to miss the context in which this verse was said. Towards the end of Joshua’s sermon, he confronts the people with a choice they have to make. He tells them that they need to either choose to wholeheartedly serve the God of Israel (Yahweh) or choose to serve the idols of the nations around them. It’s either this or that. There is no in between space.  But what’s so interesting is that before confronting them to make a choice, Joshua prefaces the conversation by reminding them about God’s faithfulness shown to them through the ages.

The journey is traced back right from Abraham (Israel’s forefather). God had taken Abraham out of a lifestyle of pagan worship and revealed Himself to him. And though Abraham was too old to be a dad – 100 years old, God blessed him to have Isaac and through him formed an entire nation. And later after 400 years when the Israelites were enslaved by Egyptians, God delivered them out of their hands. But it wasn’t just against the Egyptians, God fought for His people against all the other great nations – nations who were greater than them in might and in number. And here’s how it’s summed up in Josh 24:12,13:

12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not laboured and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’

God’s heart was that when the people remember God’s faithfulness, generosity and kindness lavished upon them, they would be moved to wholeheartedly obey and serve God. God’s faithfulness is the context in which the people are confronted to make a choice to serve God. If you’ve been coming to the Gathering over a period of time, you would have noticed that it’s pretty much the same message that we preach week in and week out. It’s the same simple gospel message that we try to preach through every passage of Scripture. And why do we do it? We definitely want to be faithful to Scripture but also because we realize that if people need to truly obey and serve God out of right motivations, they can only do so if they remember the faithfulness, generosity and kindness of God. And so every week as we hear the Gospel, all of us (including us preachers) are confronted with the question: choose this day whom you will serve? Will you serve the God of the Bible who is so faithful, generous and kind to you or will you serve the relationships, jobs, money, comfort, pleasure and the stuff in your life?

But not only is there a choice to serve but there’s also an

  • The inability to serve God

19 But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” (Josh 24:19-20)

I wonder what the people thought when they heard Joshua respond like this. “Well, thank you Joshua for that piece of encouragement. We are trying to be committed, we have all the right intentions to be faithful, but somehow you don’t seem to be convinced”. But we need to understand why Joshua said what he did.

Firstly, it’s because he recognized that the God we serve is a holy God! “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at the wrong (Hab 1:13)” One commentator said it in this way “that God’s hatred of wrong is pictured by His not being able to look toward it. If He looked toward them, they must perish”. Also, it’s the fact that God is a jealous God. Now, this seems like a contradiction – how can God be holy and jealous at the same time? It’s not referring to envy in our hearts when we are envious of each other. It’s referring in terms of fidelity and loyalty in a close relationship. One of my friends once used this illustration which helped me understand this well. If my daughter goes up to anybody else and calls them “dad”, that would make me angry and displeased. Why? Because that relationship is unique and can’t be shared with another. The same goes in a marriage where it’s a unique covenant relationship between the husband and wife and that relationship cannot be shared with another.

And then it goes on to say that “God will not forgive your transgressions or sins”. Now that doesn’t mean that God is going to harbour unforgiveness against us.  But rather that God cannot leave our sins unpunished. God cannot overlook our sins. His Holy character will need to respond justly to our sins. He will pour out His anger against us for our sins. Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sins is death – being eternally damned and separated from God forever”.

Secondly, it’s not just God’s character that Joshua is referring to but also our weakness and inability to be faithful to God with the consistency and perfection that He requires.

Some of us are perfectionists and go-getters, we are so disciplined and are able to achieve whatever we put our minds to. We think that if we discipline ourselves really well, we are able to serve God as He expects. And we need to be humbled to know that even the best of our efforts are filthy rags before a holy God. (Isa 64:6) our best efforts are simply not good enough for a holy God.

Some of us are people who probably think that we will do the bare minimum to go past the mark and God in His grace will understand. We think that our best intentions are enough for God. And we need to realize that even our best intentions are not good enough to serve God.

Why? The problem goes deeper than what we see on the surface – it’s with our sin infected hearts and that’s what renders us incapable to serve God as we should.

That’s why many times we fail to live up to the grand promises & commitments we make to serve God during our gatherings. It’s not because we’ve not tried hard enough or because we’ve not exercised self-discipline as we should have or because our intentions are not strong enough. If we were able to do it by ourselves, then we wouldn’t have required a Savior. And that’s why our inability to serve should point our attention to something outside of ourselves to come and help us. It should lead us to the 

  • The gracious provision to serve God

“And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good  land that he has given to you.” Josh 23:14-16

The OT covenant was a conditional one which provided blessings to God’s people based on their faithfulness and brought curses to them based on their unfaithfulness. Because we all have sinful hearts, it’s virtually impossible for us to secure blessings for ourselves based on faithfulness. So the OT covenant had limitations due to our sin infected hearts, and that’s why we needed a gracious provision from God to enter into a new covenant with God:

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord (spiritual adultery). 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts (heart change). And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord (close fellowship). For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (full pardon and cleansing)” (Jer 31:31-34)

This gracious provision didn’t come through a decree or words on a tablet. This gracious provision came through a Person – God’s own Son Jesus Christ. This gracious provision of the new covenant could be brought into effect only through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus – Jesus Christ lived the life we needed to live with the consistency and perfection as required by a holy God & then He died the death that we deserved as our substitute. He was buried and after 3 days He rose again defeating sin, Satan and death once and for all so that whoever may repent of their sins and fully trust in Jesus’ work would now no longer face God’s curse but enjoy eternal blessing forever.

Let’s take a minute to introspect on what this could mean for us. I think for some of us we’ve we have been carrying the burden of our relationship with God on the basis of how faithful, how sorted, and how committed we’ve been. So we are constantly oscillating between security and insecurity, trying so hard to achieve the blessing of God and constantly fearing the curse of God if we mess up. I think we need to realize that there is a better covenant already in place through the loving work of our Savior Jesus Christ. Through the cross of calvary, Jesus removes the curse from us by becoming the curse for us (Gal 3:13). And through faith in Jesus, He has granted us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Eph 1:3). What would it mean for us today to embrace this gracious provision? 

Some of you might be aware of the name Derek Raymond. Even if you’re not too familiar with the name you would have definitely seen his video on social media. In the 1992 Summer Olympics at Barcelona, Derek Redmond was in good form for the 400m sprint. He posted the fastest time in the first round and went on to win his quarter-final. In the semi-final, Redmond started well, but in the back straight about 250 metres from the finish, his hamstring tore. He hobbled to a halt and then fell to the ground in pain. Stretcher bearers made their way over to him, but Redmond decided he wanted to finish the race. He began to hobble along the track. He was soon joined on the track by his father, Jim Redmond, who barged past security and onto the track to get to his son. Jim and Derek completed the lap of the track together, with Derek leaning on his father’s shoulder for support. In so many ways this can capture visually what it looked like for us in our attempt to serve God. With all our best efforts and best intentions, we still can’t reach the finish line due to our debilitating sin infection. And yet there is this gracious provision where Jesus Christ God’s Son ran up to us when we couldn’t run anymore and then carried us to the finish line on our behalf so that we can serve God in the freedom, love and joy as we ought to. How amazing is our Lord? How amazing is our Savior who would do this for us?

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Sermon

Health check for Believers (Joshua 22)

Good morning church! Just wanted to welcome everyone who has joined us this morning – both in the hall and also online on Zoom and Facebook Live. We are so glad that you’ve joined us & we pray that you would encounter and meet with the Lord Jesus in a very personal way through the service. If you’ve been tracking with us over the last few months at the Gathering, we’ve been studying through the book of Joshua in a series titled “Our Promise Keeping God”.  Week after week we’ve been seeing the same theme being repeated again and again – that our God is One who always keeps His promises. He never fails to deliver on any of the promises that He makes to His people. And so today we arrive at Joshua chapter 22 where they have finally possessed the Promised Land, land allotments have been completed & are now experiencing a season of rest. What is God calling them to do now?

At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. 3 You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the Lord your God. 4 And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (v1-5)

Medically it’s recommended to go in for a health check-up once every 2 years after you turn 30. The frequency of taking the health check-up should increase to once a year after you turn 60. During the health check, they perform a whole range of tests checking your blood sugar, cholesterol and other levels to assess your physical condition and suggest lifestyle changes wherever they may apply. Similarly, if you’ve been a believer for some time – it could be a few months or many years, wouldn’t it be important to assess your spiritual condition and understand where you’re at? If it’s important, then what’s the spiritual health check going to look like? What are the basic health markers? And I think today’s passage gives us at least 3 health markers and checks which are basic but so important to a believer in their relationship with the Lord:

  1. Obedience – Loving Obedience

5 Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (v5)

To give a small background, at this point the conquest of the Promised Land was completed & the entire nation of Israel was experiencing rest and peace from war after 7 long years. The eastern tribes (Reuben, Gad and half tribe of Manasseh) had already won their inheritance on the eastern side of the Jordan (during Moses’ time) and were preparing themselves to return back home. And Joshua summons them and gives them a parting speech before they head back. And think about all the things he could have told them – and he instead tells them to be very careful to observe the commandment of the Lord”. In fact, the word “observe” in the original Hebrew language actually means “guard”. They were called to very carefully guard the commandments as something precious handed down to them. Imagine something extremely precious and valuable is given to you. Think about all the things that you would do to ensure that it was handled with care & protected from damage. And that’s the way in which we are called to “very carefully” observe and guard the commandments of the Lord.  

But for many people the instruction stops there – they’ll say “I get it. I have to carefully obey God’s law. I have to keep the rules. I have to do things by the book”. But it’s interesting that the verse doesn’t stop at rule-keeping and rule maintenance. In fact, it takes it one step further by talking about our motivations before obedience. It tells us that “we need to love the Lord our God”, “We need to cling to Him”, and “We need to serve Him with all our heart and our soul”.

Think about what all these things mean in our walk with God. It means that God doesn’t want us to obey out of a sense of obligation or guilt or fear of consequences. God wants us to obey Him out of a deep sense of love and trust for Him. In a sense, I wonder if through this verse God is communicating that if we obey God out of joylessness or a lack of love or a lack of trust, that in no way brings honour to God.  Think about 2 scenarios – what if I would go up to my wife and tell her that I’ll listen to her and do things to serve her because that’s what a good Christian is supposed to do. And in another scenario where I listen to and serve my wife because I truly love her. Which of the two do you think brings more honour to my wife? The second one right? And so it is with God. Jesus said in John 14:15 – “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Therefore, it’s not just obedience which matters, but love which motivates obedience which matters.

And so this becomes a very important health check for us as believers? Are we just obeying God out of a sense of dry, joyless obligation or is it coming out of love and trust for God? Take a look at all the different things that we do throughout the day or week. It could be your daily time of prayer, or time with your church community in GC, DNA group or Sunday service. What do you think motivates you? Is it an obligation or guilt or fear of consequences that motivate you? Or is actually love and trust for God? If we are honest, I think all of us in some way or the other do end up viewing obedience as an obligation. And that’s why we need to recognize our need to repent not just for the wrong things that we do, but also for the right things that we do out of the wrong motivations.

But it’s not just obedience which is a health check but also

  • Sensitivity – Sensitive to the seriousness of sin

21 Then the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, 22 “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows, and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith against the Lord, do not spare us today 23 for building an altar to turn away from following the Lord. Or if we did so to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings on it, may the Lord himself take vengeance. (v21-23)

After the parting words from Joshua, the people from the eastern tribes head back home. But right before they cross the Jordan to go on the other side, they build a huge altar which was a copy of the altar in the tabernacle. Now the western tribes get really concerned by this & immediately sent out a delegation involving the priest and 10 chiefs of the remaining tribes to confront & make war with the eastern tribes.

The assumption was that this altar was being set up to offer sacrifices to one of the idols belonging to the Canaanite nations around them. Now the Canaanite nations would often set up altars in random places – mountains, hills, under the tree to their pagan gods. And so Yahweh – the God of the Israelites explicitly commanded them to only offer sacrifices in one single place – the altar near the tabernacle. That was also a distinct way in which they were to testify to the rest of the world that Yahweh was unique and hence required sacrifices to be offered in that specific place.

And so when the priest and chiefs of the remaining tribes meet with the eastern tribes, they keep citing examples in the past when the Israelites rebelled against God and brought punishment on the whole congregation of Israel. (24,000 people died at Peor / Achan and his entire family were killed – more than that the anger of the Lord remained on Israel until restitution was made). It was the awareness and sensitivity to the seriousness of sin which made them respond with such urgency and extreme action. In v21-23, we see that the eastern tribes also were in agreement with the seriousness of sin. In fact, they go on to say that if they were found to be in reality breaching & violating the faith, then they should not be spared but destroyed by the Lord Himself. So both the eastern and western tribes had this in common – they were both on the same page when it came to being sensitive to the seriousness of sin.

And this is definitely one of the health markers for a believer. A true believer in Christ cannot have a “chalta hai” attitude toward sin because the Holy Spirit has opened his / her heart to realize that we are in a relationship with God who is Holy:

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness (persistent, unrepentant sin), we lie and do not practice the truth. (1 John 1:5-6)

Although there are times when we harbour unconfessed sin in our hearts and are desensitized to the seriousness of sin, let’s be sure that if the Holy Spirit resides in you then at some point or the other, you will be convicted of the fact that God is Holy & in turn your need to repent of that unconfessed sin. A true believer won’t be stuck on an “I don’t care how my sin grieves God and others” for too long because of the Holy Spirit.  And that’s why sensitivity to the seriousness of sin is a very essential health marker for a believer.

If I were to push further (you can answer this question in your mind), what are some areas in our lives where we see a “chalta hai” attitude to sin right now? Are there places where we don’t see the fear of the Lord in our hearts? Again this is one of the place which I believe all of us can identify if we are being honest. There is hope though in 1 John 1:9, tells us that 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

But not only are health checks in terms of obedience and sensitivity but also in our

  • Intimacy – Longing to be with God

26 Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, 27 but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we do perform the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings, so your children will not say to our children in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”’ 28 And we thought, ‘If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we should say, “Behold, the copy of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.”’ (v26-28)

These verses come to the crux of why the eastern tribes built a replica of the altar on the coast of the Jordan. It was not to forsake the Lord by worshipping another pagan god, it was not to kindle the anger of the Lord, but it was in fact because they wanted to continue accessing and experiencing intimacy with Yahweh! What they put out was a very reasonable answer – they said “it might be okay for now because our generation helped you all to conquer the land and get the inheritance but in generations to come, it shouldn’t be a case where your descendants deny us an opportunity to come and worship the Lord and offer sacrifices stating that the Jordan River is a barrier and we don’t have any portion of the Lord”. And so they build this altar as a “Witness” to help both the western and eastern tribes remember that Yahweh is their God and both can access God (imperfectly though) through the altar setup at Shiloh which was the place designated for the tabernacle. And when the western tribes realized this was the purpose and reason for the altar, it seemed good and their eyes and they in fact blessed God in response to this!

And this whole thing is taken to another level for us as believers. Think about it – OT Israelites had to travel to one single place (imperfect place) to offer sacrifices (imperfect sacrifices). But for us as NT believers, Jesus has offered Himself (perfect sacrifice once and for all on the cross) so that we don’t have an imperfect intimacy with God but a perfect one which God creates by residing within us through the Holy Spirit. How amazing it is that we have direct access into God’s heart, mind and purposes through the wonderful finished work of Jesus? And this is permanent – let’s remember and not place specific. So when we meet on Sundays or for GC – it’s not that the hall or the house is the only place where we can experience intimacy with God. No, intimacy can be experienced at all times because God lives in us. The Bible calls us the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19). Why do we gather then? To help each other grow in our intimacy with the Lord as we lovingly serve each other.

I want us to just take a minute to think about the wonderful privilege that we have as believers compared to the OT Israelites or anyone else today who goes from church to church, temple to temple, religious place to religious place trying to grasp a glimpse of the presence of God. And here we have the privilege of experiencing intimacy 24/7 with the One True God through our Lord Jesus. Let these thoughts just sink in for us. And then I want us to honestly answer – how do we approach God daily? Is it using a performance mindset – God, these are all the good things that I’ve done, so I now deserve to be around You. Is that how it is? Or maybe sometimes it’s the reverse – we think about all the terrible things we do, we are so aware of our sin, and so we automatically disqualify ourselves from approaching God because we don’t have the good works to show. Both are not the gospel. You know what? Jesus Christ – God’s own Son as the perfect High Priest went into the presence of God and brings us near to God on the basis of His perfect shed blood. And that’s why we have a relationship with God. And that’s why we have intimacy with Him.

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Sermon

Finding Rest in God’s Providence – Joshua 21

Today’s sermon is part of a series called “Our promise-keeping God” from the book of Joshua. And the passage we will be looking at is Joshua chapter 21 – the title is “Finding Rest in God’s Providence”.

As in the last couple of chapters, even this passage continues to list down the inheritance the rest of the Israelites got from the Lord.

The chapter begins by telling us that “the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel. And they said to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, “The Lord commanded through Moses that we be given cities to dwell in, along with their pasturelands for our livestock.” So by command of the Lord the people of Israel gave to the Levites the following cities and pasturelands out of their inheritance.”

This chapter is particularly describing the land and inheritance that were shared among the Levites by the other tribes.

The immediate thing that stood out for me in the first 3 verses is the manner in which the people are communicating and conducting business with each other. There is an order in which things are being implemented where the respective leaders and heads are given due respect by involving them in the decision-making process – all of them ultimately following the Lord’s command.

The main leader and hero here is Joshua, the military genius who led Israel through 7 years of war. The second hero is Caleb, the daring strong-armed genius. And all the other brave men who fought with Joshua. Their efforts have won the victory over their enemies and now the land that was conquered has been distributed among the many tribes of Israel.

Though there were these men who were responsible for winning this battle verse 43-45 tells us …

Thus, the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

Though men can achieve and perform great exploits with their strong will, desire and efforts – it would be absolute foolishness to ignore the fact that behind every success or new accomplishment is the hand of our Sovereign God who is ultimately responsible for what happens to us on this earth.

Israel’s success was God’s plan, and so were their failures. And it is the same with us today.

We can achieve great things in life with our self-efforts and think as though everything is our doing, but at some point in life, everything we experience in this world, the land we own, the possessions we acquire, and the money in our bank account will feel vain and meaningless if we fail to acknowledge God and his works in all our life.

If you don’t believe me, listen to the words of King Solomon who got to enjoy all the good things on this earth says in Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind. For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

The question we should be asking is “Is it worth pursuing the things of the world at the cost of losing connection with the giver of life and his plans and purposes for our lives?”

Eventually, most of us will get to a place where we simply cannot make sense of life’s circumstances. Everything around us can feel like chaos! Whether it is a major tragedy that came suddenly or a series of closed doors that forces a change in the direction, we will need to respond.

For some, the response will be despair. For others, it will be a place of rest.

Of all the verses in chapter 21, my favourite is verse 44. It says “And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers”

While the world looks to karma, luck, and self-effort, believers should put their hope in God’s sovereignty and learn to rest in His Providence.

What is providence?

The protective care of God over our lives.

I like this description of providence I read in an article. I’m gonna read it as it is written

Divine Providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. The doctrine of divine Providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe as a whole (Ps. 103:19), the physical world (Matt. 5:45), the affairs of nations (Ps. 66:7), human destiny (Gal. 1:15), human successes and failures (Luke 1:52), and the protection of His people (Ps. 4:8). This doctrine stands in direct opposition to the world’s idea that the universe is governed by chance or fate.

For the Israelites, to be in a place of rest was to be in a place where God is now watching over their lives.

And how did God offer his providence?

By giving victory over their enemies

verse 44b – Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands

By remaining faithful to his promise

verse 45 – Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

What a great God He is. Isn’t He?

Can you see God’s loving heart for his people?

Today, our circumstances are different, we’re not fighting for any land, or are we surrounded by blood-thirsty men who are out there waiting to kill us. We have a different enemy though and we live in an oppressive, demanding, and broken world.

But God hasn’t changed, his desire for us as his children, even today, is to offer his providential rest.

He offers that …

  1. By giving us victory over the ultimate enemy of our soul
  2. By remaining faithful to his word to keep and preserve us from eternal damnation

By giving us victory over the ultimate enemy of our soul

Colossians 1:13-14 – “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

The Israelites may or may not have known the real battle was never “against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” – Ephesians 6:12

God was and is in the business of redeeming us from the enemy of our souls.

In the garden of Eden, since the time when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and rebelled against him, Satan had taken charge of our souls. Our sinful hearts drew us away from God, we became restless wanderers and seekers of self, living Godless lives.

By the life, death, and resurrection of his Son, Christ Jesus, he reduces us from the dominion of darkness and brings us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Hebrews 4:1-11

4 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.[a3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

“As I swore in my wrath,‘They shall not enter my rest,’”

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said,

“They shall not enter my rest.”

6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterwards, in the words already quoted,

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God[b] would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

11 Let us, therefore, strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

Brothers & sisters, unlike the Israelites, we are now united in faith with God through Christ, and therefore have access to enter God’s rest.

All of this is made possible only because the ultimate enemy of our soul has been permanently defeated on the cross.

If you consider yourself as a child of God, then Satan has no power over, no claim over your soul, no claim over your body, the shackles of bondage are broken, and you are totally free in Christ because that fellow has been defeated on the cross.

By remaining faithful to his word to keep and preserve us from eternal damnation

The second providential blessing for the Lord is his faithfulness towards us.

verse 45 confirms the fact that God will remain faithful to his word – Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

To those who are been redeemed from the clutches of the ultimate enemy, Paul writes in Romans 8:35-39

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake, we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Brothers & sisters, if we have truly repented of our sins and put our trust in Christ we have God’s word as an assurance that he will remain faithful till the end.

He is and will be like the Father of the prodigal son who waits with his arms wide open to welcome his children back into his arms. No matter how far we try to run away from him, his love will pursue us and compel us to get back to him.

This too is God’s providence for us.

In the light of this knowledge we have about our heavenly Father and what he has done for us, here’s what our response should look like.

Strive to enter his rest

Hebrews 4:11 – Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

The word translated as “strive” in verse 11 means to concentrate one’s energies on the achievement of a goal – and the goal is to diligently believe in Christ and to walk in obedience.

We should daily evaluate and answer the question “What sort of Christian life are we choose to live?”

After receiving God’s forgiveness and lavish love, are we still living a defeated life? as though Christ’s death on the cross doesn’t mean anything to us.

As someone observing our lives from the outside, will they see us resting in God’s providence of His son Jesus? or will they see another human striving and struggling to make things happen on their own strength and efforts without acknowledging God.

The same verse that urges us to strive to enter God’s rest also warns us that there is a possibility of slipping into disobedience and making a mess of our lives.

In our Christian walk, we will encounter difficulties such as fear, exhaustion, human enemies, demonic opposition, and various other kinds of persecution that test our faith. And therefore, diligent faith and obedience are necessary in order to withstand such difficulties and enter God’s rest.

Striving to enter God’s rest today is working hard to look away from ourselves, to look to  Jesus, to trust in God’s promises, every minute of every day.

Striving to enter God’s rest is working towards living out Psalm 23 every minute of every day:

God is your shepherd; you lack nothing in Christ. He leads you in His paths – and they are good and restful, even if they pass through frightening and dangerous valleys. He delights in you and honors you as His own – and those who try to harm you, those who hate you and abuse you, will have to acknowledge that. His goodness and love will pursue you your entire life – and He will in the end bring you into His eternal rest as part of His beloved family.

  1. Make it a habit to go to him repentant & humble because he is faithful to forgive and restore us back every time we sin and make a mess of our lives – He’s a God who keeps his promise.

1 John 1:9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

He promised and he will keep his word for sure.

When we fall into habitual sins, our response should be to keep aside our pride, and instead of pretending and performing we should humble ourselves and confess our sins to God and others.

A homeless man was offered a free ship ticket from one country to another, it was month-long trip, throughout his journey he stayed with the servants on the ship, working hard day and night so they can offer him the leftover food from the day and survive the trip.

On arrival, he met the captain of the ship and the captain asked him, “Where were you all this while?”, I looked for you everywhere, especially during food time.

The man looked at the captain and said, I was living with the servants, helping them around so I can get some leftover food.

The captain looked at him and said, “You fool, didn’t you know your ticket included food and stay in the finest room on the ship”. It was I who sent you the ship ticket to take you to a better place and on the way meet all your needs. Brothers & sisters, consider your Christian walk a privilege, for the captain of the ship is the creator of this universe, a father who loves us and welcomes us into his presence, offering us a free gift of salvation and renewed life. Come rest and enjoy.