Author: Jinson Thomas

Good morning church! Hope you’re well. If you’ve been tracking with us, you’d be aware that we’re going through a series titled God’s blessing in suffering from the book of Job.

This might seem like a strange title to many of us because blessing and suffering are generally understood as opposite things. Even when we refer to the seasons of life, we’ll say “we’re going through a season of blessing” or we’ll say that “we’re going through a season of suffering”. We’ll usually never say “I’m going through blessing and suffering at the same time”.

So that’s the dilemma of this book. Why are we calling it “God’s blessing in suffering”? It’s because everything that happens in our life has God’s divine purpose behind it. Even when we’re going through tremendous, unbearable suffering, even that has God’s long term purpose behind it. And that’s what we’ve been discovering through this book.

This morning we’re picking up our study from Job 7. And  heads-up for all of us: some of the things that we’ll read and hear this morning might shock us, it might be a little intense. And it might also leave us wondering if brother Job has crossed the line and said things that he shouldn’t be saying.

But let’s understand that Chapter 7 is part of an ongoing conversation between Job and his friends and between Job and God in the aftermath of him losing all his 7 precious children, losing all that he had and being covered with a severe physical affliction from head to toe. A lot of what he’s expressing is a venting out of his heart – the pain is so unbearable that he can’t keep it inside, he has to let it out.

How do we make sense of passages like these? How can God’s people be instructed through these passages of “venting”? Many of the other passages in Scripture are almost like “classroom or seminar” teachings for us where Paul or Peter or Moses are instructing us on “Who God is? What are we supposed to believe? and how are we supposed to live?”

But passages like Job and some of the Psalms are more like “counselling sessions” where the people involved are expressing their grief and pain and confusion. And as people who are listening to them, we’re not called to form a bible doctrine out of this, or mainly emulate them at this point. We’re called to listen patiently (even through some of the shocking things they will say), and then at the end of the counselling session filter them out with the truths of Scripture. 

So that’s what we’re going to do over the next few weeks. We’ll try and understand what Job is saying, and then at the end of the sermon we’ll close out with some practical application points for us to take back with us.

The title of today’s sermon is Expressing grief and complaints to God. In today’s passage we see it done in 4 ways:

1. Expressing hardship (V1-5)

[1] “Has not man a hard service on earth, and are not his days like the days of a hired hand?

[2] Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like a hired hand who looks for his wages,

Due to Job’s immense suffering, he views human life as one where we are assigned or appointed into hardship or forced labor or slavery. When we think about forced labor or slavery, images of oppression, tiring work under the hot sun, painful struggle – that’s what comes to mind.

Another comparison he uses is one of a hired servant. He views his entire lifetime as one of a hired servant. Someone who is bound to work until he receives his pay at the end of the day (daily wage worker) or at the end of the year. This is coming from a person who at one time had so many hired servants working under him.

And in V2, just like a forced laborer / slave who longs for the evening shadow – for relief from the heat once the sun goes down, just like the hired servant anxiously waits for his payment to be handed to him, Job waits for not a joyful, expectant reward but the end of life because that’s what he feels will give him relief and escape from his present unbearable suffering.

[3] so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me.

In his mind, Job’s life has been ordained to be empty and useless. God has allotted months (a long time) of emptiness and uselessness. Many nights of misery & weariness have been assigned to him.

[4]  When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night is long, and I am full of tossing till the dawn.

In this verse, we see that he struggles with sleeplessness and insomnia. He tries to lie down to sleep, but he spends the entire night tossing and turning on the bed. There’s a lot of anxious thoughts running through his mind. There’s a lot of sadness and grief that he’s carrying in his heart which makes it difficult for him to sleep at night.

[5] My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt; my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.

If we go back to Job 2, we understand that he was also afflicted with loathsome sores all over his body. These were extremely painful boils and ulcers on his body.

And the effect of that is what we see in chapter 7:5 which tells us that his body was covered with worms or some other versions say maggots and dirt. And his skin formed scabs and open wounds. I know some of this is hard to hear and even think of but this gives us a picture of the extreme hardship that Job experienced. It wasn’t just his emotional and mental trauma, it was extremely physical as well where his every single moment could only be described with pain and suffering. 

But not only did he express hardship, but he also

2. Expressing hopelessness (V6-10)

6] My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle and come to their end without hope.

Weaver’s shuttle is a tool used while weaving with a loom. It’s passed back and forth quickly while weaving and Job says that his days on earth pass away more quickly than that and come to an end without hope. Again he’s talking about the end of his life. He’s not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel.

[7] “Remember that my life is a breath; my eye will never again see good.

The NIV translates it as Remember O God. So we know that this is a conversation that he’s having with God. He’s telling God “Remember that my life is so short lived that it is like a mere breath”. 

And yet Job is convinced that in this short life, this tragedy is beyond repair and cannot be redeemed. He thinks that he will never again see anything good. NIV says that he will never again see happiness.

[8]  The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more; while your eyes are on me, I shall be gone.

[9] As the cloud fades and vanishes, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up;

This is how quickly he anticipates the end of his life. Just like how clouds don’t last forever, they dissipate or vanish (some within a few minutes and some might take a few months), Job’s expecting his death soon after this.

[10] he returns no more to his house, nor does his place know him anymore.

Once a person goes to the grave, he’s not coming back to the house in which he’s lived all his life. That’s not going to be his permanent residence anymore.

That is a true fact. We spend so much of our life trying to build a beautiful home to live in. Trying to make it as comfortable and luxurious as it can be only to realize that this is simply a temporary residence. Once we go to the grave, then the reality is that we won’t ever get to go back to our home again nor will it continue to be our permanent residence.

In these verses, we can sense the hopelessness that he’s experiencing and expressing. But not just that, he is also

3. Expressing heartache (V11-16)

[11] “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

And so because Job sees his life in its final chapter with nothing more to look forward to, he’s going to not remain silent but has decided that he’s going to vent out his grief. He’s not going to hold back anymore. He’s going to pour out his great pain. He is going to open up on his deep dissatisfaction and discontentment to God.

[12] Am I the sea, or a sea monster, that you set a guard over me?

Job is asking God “God, are you viewing me as a terrifying sea monster or a terrible character which is why You’ve put me under surveillance? Why have You put up barriers on all sides so that I’m made to feel like a fearful terrorist or dreadful criminal?”

[13]  When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, my couch will ease my complaint,’

[14] then you scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions,

It’s a medical fact that good sleep significantly helps to reduce stress, anxiety and also boost our mood. God has designed rest for that purpose, and so Job expected that at least getting some rest on his bed would give him some comfort and relief but that was not the case. He was getting nightmares instead.

[15] so that I would choose strangling and death rather than my bones. [16] I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.

This is obviously a very dark thought which has come up in his mind where he’s been sleep deprived for many days after all that he’s lost and all that has happened to him. All of this makes death more desirable to him over having to survive each and every day.

Not only is there hardship, hopelessness and heartache, he is also

4. Expressing the feeling of harassment (V17-21)

[17]  What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him,

[18]  visit him every morning and test him every moment?

[19] How long will you not look away from me, nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?

When we read V17, it sounds very similar to Psalm 8:4

[4]  what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

Where the Psalmist is amazed and praising God for his mercy over insignificant beings like us. But that’s not what Job is saying here. When Job is saying this, he’s not saying it out of amazement and praise, he’s saying it out of frustration. He’s telling God “why are you after me? Why are you visiting me every day only to punish me? Why don’t you leave me alone for a single second (till I swallow my spit) ?”

For Job at this point, God’s presence is no longer comforting but seems like a punishment because everytime He thinks that God is coming close to Him, he feels that God only wants to punish him.

So he’s questioning God’s goodness and his character. We see how Job’s view of God is impacted by his own personal experience. His personal experience is now coloring the way He looks at God’s goodness rather than viewing God on the basis of what He knows to be true of God.

[20] If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your mark? Why have I become a burden to you?

[21] Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For now I shall lie in the earth; you will seek me, but I shall not be.”

Job’s dilemma seems to be trying to understand what he did to deserve this suffering? If it is a sin issue, then why doesn’t God clearly tell him what is the sin that Job has committed against God? He wonders why he is being targeted? Why is God treating him like a giant burden?

And if sin is the reason behind this suffering, then Job’s question is why doesn’t God forgive his sins and cover his guilt?

But the thing is that because God is Holy and Just, He can’t just overlook the sin and simply forgive it. It’ll be like a Judge who just pardons a terrorist because he apologized. That’s not justice. Some payment would need to be made equal to the offense committed for it to be called justice.

Now we know from Job 1 that there was some understanding of burnt offerings for sin where he offered it for his children. But he didn’t have the benefit that we have as believers in Jesus on this side of the cross. We know how seriously God viewed our sin because He sent His one and only Son to sacrifice Himself on the cross so that our entire mountain size debt could be paid and through that we could freely receive God’s forgiveness and pardon.

So yes, in this entire chapter Job openly expresses his hardship, his hopelessness, his heartache and his feeling of harassment. So where do we go from here? How do we apply this passage?

1. God permits us to express our grief and our complaints to Him. He gives us the space to come to Him and honestly express our grief and complaints. God could very well tag a lot of these complaints of Job as disrespectful and demeaning and shut the door on Job.

He could also threaten to consume Him in anger because he dared to accuse God. But it’s interesting that God doesn’t choose to do any of that, but instead like how God says in Isaiah, he says “Come reason with me”. What a wonderful privilege you and I have?

2. Expressing grief doesn’t give us the license to take matters into your own hands. That’s the other thing we need to understand clearly as we read into the dark emotions and thoughts of Job. Job is venting out his grief and complaints to God, but he’s not using that as a license to actually take his own life or for that matter to abandon God because God hasn’t lived up to his expectations.

That’s not the purpose of these chapters. We need to honestly open up to God and God gives us that space, but that doesn’t give us a license to act upon those dark emotions and thoughts because we’re still acknowledging God’s rule over our lives. 

3. We need God’s church to help us navigate & filter through our grief and complaints. When we go through extreme unbearable suffering and express it, sometimes we can sound like unbelievers where our responses may shock ourselves and others.

But that’s why we have the blessing of our church community to help us filter our complaints, grief and doubt & weigh that with the truth of God’s Word. What suffering people need the most is to know the truth of who God is which will help them to trust God in those moments. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God – (Rom 10:17)”.

4. God’s purpose in our suffering can be much more bigger than what we can think or imagine. We have the benefit of knowing the background story that Job and his friends weren’t aware of at that point. He thought God was purposely punishing him, when the truth was that God was honoring him above all. Spurgeon once said this “I would be quite content to take Job’s afflictions if I might also have Job’s grace, and Job’s place in the Church of God.”

There are things that happen in the background which we have no idea about. Who knows if God is using our suffering with some big long term purpose that we’ll only understand in eternity?

Good morning church! Happy Resurrection Sunday to all! We’re so glad that you’ve joined us this morning & our desire is that our lives would be radically changed as we humbly listen to God’s Word this morning.

Today is obviously a special, anticipated Sunday in churches all across the world. Just out of curiosity, I wanted to understand what was the general perception of Resurrection Sunday or Easter in India and so I checked up a few news articles and this was I figured:

1. It’s one of the most attended services in the year. People typically come in large numbers dressed in white.
2. Food: In a lot of traditional churches, Resurrection Sunday comes after 40 days of observing lent where they have abstained from eating meat or alcohol. And so Resurrection Sunday is the “joyful break” from abstinence where you’ll have dining tables filled with all kinds of delicious meals & sweets.
3. Family Gatherings: It’s also one of those times of the year when extended families come together and have a massive celebration.

One of the contributors to one of those articles put it this way “Easter for us is not just about the resurrection of Christ, it is about togetherness, gratitude and sharing love through food”. According to many, resurrection Sunday is not just about Jesus, it’s Jesus + a lot of other things.

On the other hand, I wanted to understand if people in the US felt differently about Resurrection Sunday. And interestingly most Americans believe that Jesus rose again from the dead on that first Resurrection Sunday. They are just not sure it matters much.

So be it in the US or India, there seems to be a common thread where people may celebrate Resurrection Sunday as a festival, they may even believe that Jesus rose from the dead but they simply don’t see any relevance for their daily lives.

And in a stark contrast to how people perceive the relevance of Resurrection Sunday, today’s passage tells us that the Resurrection of Jesus opens the door for God’s incredible grace to come to us. It’s not to say that food, family gatherings and services are bad things.

But if that’s all that comes to your mind when you think about Resurrection Sunday, then you are missing out on so much more. You are missing out on receiving the most incredible gift that God intends to give you. So don’t settle for anything less.

Why is it “God’s Incredible Grace”? Why not just say “God’s grace”?

1. Because of our desperate need for grace – Because of how much we needed that grace  (v1-3)

[1]  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2] in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— [3] among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

The apostle Paul doesn’t mince his words. That’s because he knew that we need to fully understand the bad news before we arrive at the good news. It’s like going to a doctor who’s done a comprehensive diagnosis of your health. Before he gets to prescribing the medication, it’s critical that he tells you what’s exactly wrong.

Paul starts by telling us that we were dead in our sins. Note that he doesn’t say that we were bruised in our sins, he doesn’t say we were badly injured in our sins. He says that we were “dead” in our sins. We were lifeless corpses spiritually is how he put it.

On the outside, we might be walking, talking and breathing but on the inside we are spiritually dead meaning that we don’t have a desire to please God. We really don’t want to live under His rule and to be frank we don’t want anything to do with Him because we want to sit on the throne seat of our lives.

It’s interesting that he uses two different words to describe sin – trespasses and sins. Trespasses refers to deliberate sins, willfully crossing the boundaries that God has set. Sins on the other hand is a broad, umbrella term which means missing the mark, failing to meet God’s standards & the unfortunate part is that that is our default setting. Everything that we do by default misses the mark & fails to meet God’s Holy standards.

And so we’ve already hit a roadblock in V1 because from what it seems is that our problem is not just that we every now and then willfully cross the boundaries that God sets for us (that’s trespasses). Our problem is that “sin” is our default setting – by nature everything that we think, say or do misses the mark – it fails to meet God’s Holy standards.

And then V2 takes it one step further. It tells us that “we followed the course of this world” meaning that our only ambition in life was to live for this temporary physical world assuming that there is nothing eternal to look forward to. “khaao, piyo, maze karo” – “You Only Live Once” – that was the motto of our lives.

And then it says “following the prince of power of the air”. Who is that? That’s Satan. In other words, it’s saying that we were directly controlled & influenced by Satan. How does he do that? Through deception and condemnation – that’s how he controls and influences us.

It goes on to say that Satan is “the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” – He plays an active part in the lives of unbelievers by making them stubbornly oppose God’s will. Nobody is on neutral ground. If we’re not under King Jesus’ rule, we should have no doubt that we are under Satan’s rule! There is no neutral territory.

But it’s not only that we were controlled by Satan, but we’re driven by sinful passions and cravings.

 V3. among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind

According to this verse, it seems like alot of our time & energies are spent in fulfilling our sinful passions and cravings. A Lot of our investment goes into living a life of indulgence. Mind you this is not just limited to a few rotten apples. This applies to every human being which is why Paul says “among whom we all once lived” – so he’s including himself in this category.

And if we honestly examine our own hearts, we would agree. Why is it that we end up thinking and doing things that we know are forbidden? Why does our mind constantly keep going in that direction? Why do we often find ourselves in regretful positions realizing that we invested so much time and energy into fulfilling our sinful cravings that promised much but delivered nothing? We’re left with only empty hearts and tremendous guilt.

Then the final nail in the coffin – and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind – By our inherent nature, we were children of God’s anger and punishment! It’s a humbling thing to realize that we may have been the apple of our parent’s eyes, we might have only seen praise and appreciation from our friends and colleagues, but that doesn’t change our status of being children of wrath – children who by nature deserve God’s anger and punishment.

This bad news is extremely bad for us because it reveals how utterly helpless we were to deal with sin & its consequences. We desperately need grace, but it’s not incredible grace just because our need is so great. It is God’s incredible grace…

2. Because of His showering of grace – He lavished His grace on us (v4-7)

[4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— [6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Though we are children of wrath, God has chosen to deal with us differently than what we deserved or what we expected. It’s because God is “rich in mercy” – He is extremely generous in showing compassion to those who are afflicted or in a miserable state.

because of the great love with which he loved us – The word used for love is agape which is self-sacrificial, unconditional love. It’s an action word not simply a feeling or an emotion. It required self-sacrifice on God’s part to show us that kind of love. We just celebrated Good Friday a couple of days back – and the scandal of the cross is that on that cross, the Son of God was treated as a son of disobedience and a child of wrath. God was making His Son pay the hefty price for all of our misdeeds. 

And all of this happened, while we were still dead in our trespasses. Look at V5.

even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ

It didn’t happen while we were showing signs of recovery or signs of improvement. Dead people don’t show signs of recovery or improvement, dead people need resurrection. And so while we were still lifeless corpses, God decided to awaken and resurrect us!

People who were spiritually dead would be spiritually awakened or resurrected by putting their faith in Jesus. They would now be given the capacity to please God, to submit willingly under God’s rule and to love Him.

Not only would they be spiritually awakened, but they will also be physically awakened or resurrected when Jesus returns again. They will be given a body that resembles the glorified body of Jesus after He came back from the dead.

 V6. and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

This verse tells us that we will get to reign with Christ in heaven. A certain measure of His authority will be shared with us. It’s like obtaining a VIP seat at the throne and table of God. It’s unbelievable to think that that’s the position that is being shared with us as a result of our union with Christ.

God takes this union very seriously – and so if we’ve put our faith in Jesus, we get to share in all the achievements and privileges of Jesus Christ. It’s like once a couple is married, everything that they own (possessions, achievements and privileges) is now shared with one another. The church is also referred to as the bride of Christ. So God takes that union seriously!

Did we deserve any of this? Absolutely no. If all that God did was hold off His wrath on us, we would be more than happy. None of us would complain because we know where we were heading because of our sins. But to think that God has given us way more than we can even think or imagine is mind blowing. 

Why did God do this?  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  This is God’s way of showing the length and breadth of His grace as He shows it to sinners like us.

Estimates say that the Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant wedding costed about 600 million USD. Now the Ambani’s have great wealth and the extravagant wedding was an opportunity to put their great wealth on display. And it’s almost like God is putting His immeasurable riches of grace, the extravagance of His grace on display by showering, splurging it on people who don’t deserve it at all.

It is God’s incredible grace not only because of our desperate need & God’s showering of grace, it is incredible…

3. Because we are also shaped by grace – He is transforming and changing us by grace

• We are being shaped in humility (v8-9)

[8] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

One of the repeated ideas in this passage is how we didn’t do anything to deserve or earn what we have received in Christ. It’s all God’s unmerited favor! All we needed to do is take Jesus at His word and trust in Him & His work, and all of this would be true for us.

It’s like the thief on the cross – the most remarkable thing is that the thief didn’t have any time to demonstrate a changed and improved Christian life. Many of our churches wouldn’t have granted membership to the thief on the cross because of His past life and yet, just because He believed in who Jesus is and what Jesus said, we’ll find the thief reigning with Christ in heaven!

And every other person who we will find in heaven is also going to be there not because of their sheer hard work or their self-discipline. They are going to be there simply because they received the gift of God in faith. That’s it.

That in itself eliminates every reason to boast or pride in ourselves because we had nothing to do with it. Our boasting and pride is being stripped away. And in its place, humility is being shaped in our hearts as we are reminded that salvation was all God and nothing from us. Our contribution was zero. That’s what humbles us.

• We are being shaped with purpose

[10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

This verse tells us that We are His workmanship – God’s designed products, His crafted masterpieces, Created in Christ Jesus for good works– shaped in Christ Jesus for good works

We are not saved by good works – saved by grace but we are saved unto good works. When people hear us and see our good works, they should be able to lift the label / seal and know that this is God’s branded design. They should know that this is God’s crafted masterpiece which God had prepared and envisioned in eternity past.

The image of God thinking and planning and ordaining what His workmanship would be like before the foundations of the world. So can a believer ever say that his or her life is meaningless? Can he or she ever say that their life doesn’t have any purpose? No, you absolutely do. You are God’s workmanship to point others to the God of incredible grace.

As we sit here on this Resurrection Sunday, we need to reckon with the fact that the bad news of our sin is much worse than we thought. But at the same time, God’s grace is more incredible than we would have thought or dreamed of. From being dead in sins & a child of wrath to being alive in Christ & a child of grace who will one day sit and reign with Christ. This is incredible grace my friends!

Good morning church! A warm welcome to all who have joined us here at the hall and our dear friends who have joined us online. We’re glad that you’re with us & pray that this time would help you know and love Jesus better.

As a church we usually prefer to study books of the Bible – chapter by chapter, verse by verse like we’re covering with our current series from the book of Job. But since it’s Passion Week, we’ll take a short break and pick it back from where we left off the week after Resurrection Sunday.

As most of us know, today churches all over the world would be celebrating Palm Sunday. In some churches, they’d even be distributing palm branches during the service. All over the world, churches are trying to reflect back on key events that took place in the passage that we just read this morning.

And so we’ll also be spending some time trying to understand the significance of those events but also trying to figure what significance does that have for our lives today? I think all of us would agree that we would want something more than just a palm branch in our hands as a take away this morning.  We would want something that would help us deepen our relationship with Jesus. That’s what we’ll try to do & for that we need God’s help to open this passage for us.                                                                 

(Pray)                                      

Sometime back I watched a reality TV series titled Undercover boss. The premise of this series is that business owners / CEOs choose to go undercover in their own companies, taking on low level roles to get a sense of the ground level reality within their company.

And at the end of each episode, there’s a pivotal moment when the business owner / CEO makes his / her grand reveal. And then to the shock and surprise of the ground level employees, they come to realize that the person that they’ve been interacting with the whole time was the main boss! But not just shock, sometimes embarrassment because of the things that they may have done or said in the presence of the main boss. The main boss’s grand reveal has some serious implications on them!

Similarly, as we arrive at this particular point in Matthew, Jesus is making His grand reveal! Until this point, Jesus has been relatively subdued & secretive. Of course he’s performed miracles and healings, cast out demons and preached to many people, but the grand reveal telling everyone that He is the Messiah King that they’ve been waiting for – that has been kept under wraps…right until now.

And so the moment has arrived when Jesus makes His grand reveal – telling people who He is…what kind of King He is…how is He as a King going to treat His subjects…and what kind of reception should be given to Him. All these things are being revealed right now.

Let’s break this down verse by verse.

[1]  Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives,

Now this may seem like a simple statement of facts but Matthew has specifically mentioned these locations to show how we have arrived at the climax of the redemptive story. You may ask how?

Firstly, Jerusalem was the centrepoint & hub of Jewish worship and religious life. After all, the Temple was there! If spirituality could be tagged to a location, then that location would be Jerusalem.

Not just that, anyone who was a spiritual somebody or a spiritual A-lister would be found in Jerusalem.

Interestingly, Jesus didn’t spend a lot of his time out there during His earthly ministry.

Most of his ministry by choice happened outside of Jerusalem. All in all he may have visited Jerusalem three or four times but in secret. So this is going to be Jesus’ first public appearance in the spiritual centrepoint & hub of Jerusalem.

Secondly, leading up to this passage, whenever Jesus referred to Jerusalem, He spoke about it as the place where He’ll face suffering and death (Matt 20:18-19). In Jesus’ mind, this is the place marked with suffering & death.

Thirdly, this passage mentions the Mount of Olives: Again, not a simple, trivial fact. In the book of Zechariah, it was prophesied that this was the chosen place where God would fight for His people against their enemies.

Zechariah 14:3-4 ESV

[3] Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. [4] On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.

So Matthew is using all these ways to tell us that the climax is here! Whatever is going to happen after this is going to be a defining point in history!

But then in a sudden change of events, Jesus gives his disciples an unusual, strange instruction in V2-3:

[2] saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. [3] If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”

This instruction was unusual and throws up alot of questions. Firstly, why did Jesus want a donkey in the first place?

Donkeys were beasts of burden – they were used to carry heavy loads from one place to another. They were not the ideal choice animal for a King’s grand reveal! It’s like announcing “Presenting to you the richest man on earth” and we’re expecting him to come in a Rolls Royce but he turns up in a cycle. In the eyes of the world, it’s not the best way to make a good first impression.

Secondly, how did Jesus know that the disciples would find an available donkey and colt in the village ahead?

And how was it that the disciples were told to get hold of a colt and donkey which they neither owned nor purchased? Did Jesus make some prior arrangements with the owner of the donkey and colt?

To my mind, this wasn’t a simple instruction for the disciples to follow because they had to fully trust Jesus’ plan and also be willing to answer the embarrassing question of why were they taking a donkey and colt which didn’t belong to them. So they really had to take Jesus at his word on this.

Let’s move on ahead with V4-5 because it does give us an insight into why Jesus wanted the colt & donkey:

[4] This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, [5]  “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

Matthew says that this is a fulfillment of an OT prophecy from Zechariah:

Zechariah 9:9

[9]  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

So Jesus wasn’t being random or eccentric. Everything that Jesus did, had a divine purpose behind it. And it’s clear that by doing this Jesus was identifying Himself as the Promised Messiah of the OT. By doing this, Jesus is saying “I am the One that you’ve been praying and waiting for all these years!”

The verse says “Your king is coming to you”. He is the One who takes the initiative to come toward you. He takes the first step in coming toward us. He’s not waiting for us to block an appointment with Him. He’s not waiting for us to reach a certain spiritual level before thinking of coming to us. Your king is coming to you.

But the next question is, “Okay,I get it that Jesus is coming toward me, but how is He approaching me? What does He have in mind as He comes to me? Is He coming to take advantage? Is He coming to punish?

V5…humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.

Donkeys were not a symbol of royalty, strength and power like horses and chariots. They were a symbol of humility and servitude. Hard labor, doing the lowly insignificant tasks that no one else wants to do – that’s why they are beasts of burden.

By deciding to sit on a donkey instead of a horse or a chariot, Jesus was identifying Himself as the humble king who lays Himself down to serve His people. As King, He’s willing to go down the hard, uncomfortable road in order to serve His subjects. He’s willing to get His hands dirty in order to humbly serve His people.

This should tell us something – Jesus wasn’t coming to dominate over us or to assert His authority over us or oppress us. That was the baggage that the Israelites carried. They were used to seeing kings come on their mighty horses and chariots to take advantage of them (like the Israelite kings) or destroy them (like enemy kings).

And this was a radically different posture of a king who was entering their territory with the only intention to look out for them and bless them.

Let’s take a moment to pause and ask ourselves – what is the thought that fills our hearts when we think about Jesus the King approaching us? Is it one of anxiety and uncertainty thinking He’s going to take advantage of you? Or Is it one of punishment where you think Jesus’ going to get you for all the bad things you’ve done?

Let this thought sink in – that here’s our humble King who is coming with the attitude to serve us & look out for us.

[6] The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. [7] They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. [8] Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

V8. Very interesting response from the crowd which I think we need to spend a little time on. First thing that stands out is that “most of the crowd” responded by spreading their cloaks and branches on the road. It was not a tiny minority, but a majority of the crowd had a similar positive response toward Jesus.

Secondly, it says that they spread their cloaks & cut branches on the road. Why did they do that? It was a gesture to say that they were honoring Jesus as their king. They were voluntarily submitting to His authority.

There was a similar precedent in the OT where once Jehu was anointed as king of Israel, people in haste took off their outer garments and put on the bare steps, blowing the trumpet saying “Jehu is king”. (2 King 9:13) So it was a way of them acknowledging Jesus’ kingship and their voluntary submission to Him.

Thirdly, it seems like they agreed to the fact that Jesus’ entry was a fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah. Had they not, their response would have been quite different – it would have resulted in chaos and protest.

But it’s not just through their actions, look at what they were saying.

[9] And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” [10] And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” [11] And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Try and imagine this scene. There’s a massive crowd all around Jesus and they are shouting and “crying out” – “Hosanna to Son of David”. Hosanna means “Oh, save”. In other words, it’s a way of saying “I beg you, please save me!”

Not only are they recognizing Jesus as the person to save them – but they also recognize him as “the Son of David”. They are saying that He was the promised Messiah King who was in the lineage of David.  They recognize royalty.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord: They knew that Jesus was sent by God & had God’s stamp of approval on Him. And they were joyfully welcoming Him into their midst.

Hosanna in the highest: “I beg you to save, please extend God’s heavenly kingdom toward me”.

All this is happening, and V11 tells us the whole city was stirred up at Jesus’ entry where people asked “who is this?”. It’s so interesting that Jesus and his disciples don’t answer.

Instead it’s the crowd that came to Jesus’ defense saying that this was prophet Jesus of Nazareth of Galilee. By calling him as a prophet, they saw him as one appointed by God to speak the Word as it is. To heed to Jesus’ words is to obey God, to deny Jesus’ words is to reject God.

It looks like the entire crowd was drawn and attracted to Jesus completely. At this point – at V11 – if you and I were to rate the crowd’s spirituality, we’d probably conclude that these were the perfect examples of Christian devotion.

We’d probably do at least 5 bible studies on how the crowd responded to Jesus and how we should follow in their footsteps. Yet they were the same ones who shouted and cried with the same intensity saying “Crucify him” a few days later.

How is that even possible? Why would the same crowd turn against Jesus just a few days later? It makes no sense, why would they do that?

Though they seemed to have the right reception for a king and though they seemed to have the right expressions for a king, yet the truth was that they didn’t have the right heart to submit to a king.

They weren’t ready to fully surrender their lives to Jesus. They weren’t ready to have their lives turned upside down. They weren’t ready to

experience full scale life change.

Because for that they needed to admit to their sinfulness & moreover they needed to give up on their lifestyle of sin. That was too much to demand is what they felt.

They probably said Hosanna – “I beg you, please save me from the Roman rule”, but they weren’t ready to cry out desperately and say “I beg you, please save me from my sins”.

They were okay with convenience worship which says “I will worship God as long as it doesn’t demand me to make any change to my lifestyle”.

Before we get too critical of the crowd, let’s look inward and ask ourselves if we show the same tendencies as well. The reality is that we all also have the same tendencies too.

Some years back, I remember right after a youth worship set which I thought really came out well, the preacher challenged us to reflect if we understood the words that we just sang.

One of the songs we sang was “This is my desire to honor you. Lord, with all my heart I worship you. All that I have within me, I give you praise”…and he just asked us one question which hit right into my heart – is that really true? Would that be true of you on a Monday or a Tuesday when your church isn’t looking?

The problem is not with the song, but with us who are singing the song. We don’t mind singing the song, as long as we aren’t compelled to do it. What should we do? Do better, try better tomorrow?

To be honest, I don’t think any of us have the strength and power in us to willingly to yield to Jesus’ kingship. So what hope is there for us?

‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.

Jesus left His heavenly abode to come to us. He took on the form of humanity and then went up on the cross to die for you and for me. He was buried and rose again on the Third Day so that you and I can joyfully and willingly submit to His Kingship. Not just that, He has also placed His Spirit within us to help us surrender ourselves to His Kingship.

What a wonderful King we serve?

Good morning, church! Hope you’re well. If you’ve been tracking with us,byou’d be aware that we’re going through a series titled God’s blessing in suffering from the book of Job.

And I’m aware that for many of us this seems like an unusual title. Because we don’t normally use blessing and suffering in the same sentence. If we walked up to anyone on the street and asked them what they thought was the opposite of the word “blessing”, they’d tell you that it’s “suffering”.

Blessing and suffering are always treated as opposites. They don’t go together. So why are we saying “God’s blessing in suffering”? It’s because everything that God does has a purpose behind it. Including seasons of unbearable, prolonged suffering – even that – as hard as it is for us to believe – has God’s purpose behind it. So as a church we have embarked on a journey of spotting God’s blessing in suffering as we study the book of Job.

And it’s possible that some of us are looking at this series and wondering if this is actually relevant for us right now. Maybe we feel that a series on salvation or holiness or stewardship would be more relevant because we’re not going through a season of suffering right now. Well, let me tell you this, the thing about suffering is that it often doesn’t come to us with a prior booking. It’s usually unexpected!

I’m not trying to scare us this morning but I’m just stating a fact that if we don’t have a biblical framework to think through suffering, we’ll find ourselves hopeless, stuck, not knowing what to do as we come face to face with that unexpected medical report or an unexpected job loss or unexpected loss of relationship or loss of a loved one.

Suffering is a certainty in a believer’s life which is why James can tell us “count it all joy my brothers when (not if) you meet trials of various kinds”. The assumption is that suffering is a reality we can’t run away from.

And it’s not just limited to our own lives. All of us know someone or the other who is going through suffering. And if we’re able to get the right understanding of suffering, we’ll be in a better position to be more sensitive and helpful toward others as they deal with suffering. 

But in order to do that, we have to admit that there’s a lot of unlearning that needs to take place. And so I hope that all of us are approaching this series in this manner – where we’re praying and asking God to help us grow in our understanding & response to suffering. Let that be our prayer – and I think that’s a perfect place for us to begin our time this morning. So would you join me in prayer?

(Pray)

It had been the longest, quietest, agonizing week ever! A week has passed since Job lost his thriving business and his precious children – all in a single day. After trying to hold himself together, Job finally lets it all out in Chapter 3 cursing the day of his birth. So unbearable was his pain that he expresses that it would have been better to not be born than for him to go through all this.

His closest friends are sitting with him and are trying to comfort him with their limited understanding. Eliphaz is the first friend who speaks up but much of his advice is loaded with the assumption that Job must’ve sinned in some way or he’s carrying some secret sin which is what caused this unbearable suffering. Chapter 5 is a continuation of Eliphaz’s advice. Let’s try and break it down verse by verse.

[1] “Call now; is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?

V1 is a rhetorical question where Eliphaz is telling him “Job, you can call out to God, but don’t expect a response because of your secret sin. It’s pointless for you to pray because you’re already disqualified from approaching God”.

Wow, talk about discouragement right? Job’s already weighed down by his immense suffering, and now he’s having to deal with words of judgment & condemnation from his closest friends. I hope we can see here the danger in jumping to conclusions which can lead to unhelpful, discouraging conversations. That’s the last thing that’s going to help someone who is going through suffering.

[2] Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple

Eliphaz seems to have already analyzed Job’s heart. He feels that Job is carrying “vexation” or “resentment” and jealousy in his heart. Eliphaz feels that these two sins – resentment (bitterness, irritation) and jealousy (unhealthy desire for what doesn’t belong to you) is what brought all this suffering upon Job. Now are these sins that God hates? Yes, undeniable.

But are these sins which Job secretly carried in his heart? There’s no evidence of that. In fact it’s clear from the first couple of chapters that the suffering which came upon Job wasn’t the result of his sins but a conference which took place in the heavenly courts where God permitted him to be tested. That’s the background which no one was privy to & so Eliphaz went ahead with his own assumption about resentment & jealousy.

And then in V3-5, Eliphaz proceeds to use an illustration (we don’t know if its a real story or just an analogy). He’s using the illustration to demonstrate what happens to a person who harbours secret sins in his heart.

[3]  I have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling. (NIV – but suddenly his house was cursed) – it happened unexpectedly

[4] His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the gate, and there is no one to deliver them.

[5] The hungry eat his harvest, and he takes it even out of thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

We don’t know the source of this illustration but the end seems quite similar to what happened to Job’s children and his wealth. So Eliphaz isn’t being subtle here. He’s clearly drawing a relationship between the sins that he thinks Job is harbouring in his heart and his suffering in losing all that he ever had.

Again, we don’t know what was Eliphaz’s intention in giving this illustration but it comes across as almost like kicking someone who is already down and injured. 

[6] For affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground,

In other words, Eliphaz says that suffering doesn’t come out of thin air. It has to have a logical cause and the logical cause for suffering is sin according to him. All suffering can only be explained by personal sin. Nothing more and nothing less.

There are times when suffering is a consequence of sin. If we abuse our bodies with substances, it is going to result in serious health problems. But there are other times when suffering isn’t caused by sin. Look at V7.

[7] but man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.

In this verse, Eliphaz contradicts what he just said by saying that we are born in suffering. But this contradiction is actually a biblical understanding.

Suffering is something that comes with the package of being born in a broken world. Sometimes what we go through doesn’t have anything to do with our own sin or someone else sinning against us, it’s just part and parcel of us bearing the effects of a fallen world.

To once again go to the example of the blind man in John 9. The disciples of Jesus asked a question that most of us would have thought about – was it this man’s sin or his parent’s sin which is what caused this? Jesus’ answer surprised them because they were expecting a sin answer but Jesus answered “Neither, this happened so that God would be glorified in Him”. So this should tell us that we should have 2 categories as we observe the world around us: a category for sin but also a separate category for suffering.

[8] “As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause,

Eliphaz moves onto counselling Job with next steps – what he ought to do. He’s telling him “Job, if I were in your place, this is what I would do. I will seek God – I would earnestly pursue God, I would go after God and to God I would commit my cause – I will totally surrender myself to Him. I will be the most devoted guy ever”.

Now at the outset this seems like good spiritual advice. Is there anything wrong with seeking God or surrendering ourselves to God? No, these are good things – in fact critical things which are commanded in other places of Scripture.

But read with me from V9 to 27 to understand what he’s actually saying. A lot of what Eliphaz will say in the coming verses are things true about God which are also backed by other passages in the Bible but let’s try and understand the big picture of this advice.

[9] who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number: – True, Our God is a God of wonder without any limit.

[10] he gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields; – He is the God of providence who looks after His creation.

[11] he sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety. – He exalts and helps those who are humble and in pain. He is close to the brokenhearted.

[12] He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.

[13] He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.

[14] They meet with darkness in the daytime and grope at noonday as in the night.

He is able to see through the wicked intentions of people and pronounces judgment on them.

[15] But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth and from the hand of the mighty.

[16] So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.

God delivers the needy, hopeless and helpless. God takes pride and special interest in those who have no protection.

[17] “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.

Hebrews 12 says a similar thing – that when God allows us to go through suffering, He’s actually disciplining us as His children – He’s doing it out of love so that we can grow in holiness. Again, this is something true of God.

And then he goes on to describe the blessing which will follow a devoted life

[18] For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal.

[19] He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you.

[20]  In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword.

[21] You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes.

[22] At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear the beasts of the earth.

[23] For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.

[24] You shall know that your tent is at peace, and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.

[25] You shall know also that your offspring shall be many, and your descendants as the grass of the earth.

[26] You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered up in its season.

[27] Behold, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear, and know it for your good.” –

So Eliphaz is confident on his theory and practice and now he’s highly recommending this for Job. This is what is going to fix his suffering. This is what is going to reverse his situation.

But what was the underlying message behind his advice? Because he assumed that suffering was caused by our sin & disloyalty to God, his fix was a greater degree of loyalty & devotion to God. Because God’s mad at me because of my sin, I need to do something to get back in his good books.

I need to demonstrate how passionate & committed I am toward Him so that He can start showing His favor to me. What’s this after all? Works based salvation. Performance based relationship. It’s stemming from the idea that God is transactional – He deals with me in the same way I deal with Him.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Two verses that always served as a reminder to my heart telling me how unconditional God’s relationship is with me.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

God didn’t wait for us to love Him first – as a precondition to loving us back. It wasn’t a love that was dependent on how much we loved God. It wasn’t transactional.

It wasn’t “matlabi” love which says I will love you only as long as you treat me and love me as I expect you to.

No, it’s a love where God took the initiative to love us way before we even realized our need for it.

How did he show us this love? While we still sinners, Jesus died for us.

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Even before we thought of making our first move to turn back to God, Jesus died for us. Which means that our status was still a “sinner” and an “enemy” of God at the time.

I remember right after 26/11 and when we got to know that the name of one of the terrorists was Ajmal Kasab, he became the object of anger and hatred of the entire nation because he was an enemy after all that he had done. And now imagine that to be the status and name that’s associated with us because of our rebellion toward God. That’s us!

And yet Scripture tells us that while we were still sinners and enemies, Jesus died for us. In other words, Jesus took the punishment that sinners and enemies of God deserved and He paid the price on our behalf so that we could be set free.

He rose again on the Third Day so that we would never again be referred to as enemies by God’s own children. Is God transactional and conditional? No, that’s not who He is. And so how do we comfort someone who is suffering who is searching for answers? 

1. By recognizing that every suffering cannot be always explained by a sin cause.
2. By recognizing that the resolution to suffering cannot be achieved by increased loyalty and devotion to God. Suffering isn’t a direct indication of God’s anger toward us; neither is blessing & prosperity a direct indication of God’s delight in us.
3. However, suffering can be explained by God’s divine purpose. Even though the details (how and the why of God’s ways) might not fully be clear, we can look at the cross and be assured that God won’t deal with us out of spite or cruelty. He always treats us better than we deserve.

Good morning church! Hope you’re well this morning. Happy Women’s Day to all the wonderful women at our church. On behalf of the church, I just want to say that we’re so thankful to God for each of you & the immense blessing you are to our church.

I can’t begin to put into words how much I’ve been encouraged and challenged by your faith & you all are indeed indispensable (critical) partners with us in the mission of God. Thank you for all that you do – you all are truly a blessing!

So with that, let’s turn our attention to our time with the Word this morning. As a church, we place a high value on this time with the Word because we believe that the God of the universe speaks to us individually & personally through His Word.

This isn’t like a Ted talk where an expert shares his opinions and experiences on different topics. No, it’s our conviction that if this passage is faithfully opened up and preached as it is, then we’re not listening to someone’s opinion but to God Himself. Which is precisely why Paul could say this to the Thessalonian believers in 1 Thess 2:13:

13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.    

That’s why this time is critical, so let’s prepare ourselves to listen to God’s Word with attentive ears and open hearts.

If you’ve been tracking with us, you’re probably aware that we began a new series last week from the book of Job titled God’s blessing in suffering.

For some of us, this title seems like a contradiction because we’re not used to saying blessing and suffering in the same breath. We always think of these as two opposite ends of the spectrum.

What’s even more strange to our ears is to suggest that God blesses us in suffering because when someone goes through suffering, the last thing that he or she would say is “I’m blessed”. This simply defies our logic and expectations of what we consider as a blessed life.

And so the journey that we have set on is in seeing how God’s blessing comes in different shapes, forms and sizes. Sometimes blessing will come in the form of prosperity which is what Job experienced at the start of the book.

But other times, blessing will come in the form of suffering which is what we’ll explore over the next few months. And let’s state it right off the bat – some of these lessons aren’t going to be easy for us.

Some lessons might challenge our deep rooted beliefs (that we’ve held onto for many years). Some lessons might require unlearning. Some lessons might mean humbly surrendering to God’s will (instead of fighting with God’s will). Are we prepared to be unsettled? We need help, so let’s pray and ask God to help us.

(Pray)

It’s important to remind ourselves of the context in which Chapter 2 plays out. In a single moment, in a blink of an eye, Job lost everything he had.

He lost his property – his hard earned wealth and resources that he accumulated over many years. Some may say that’s just material stuff – but it wasn’t just that, he lost his own children!

They were pieces of his own heart. As a loving dad, he loved his kids, he gave them everything he could give them, he looked after them, he watched them grow up, he prayed for them & even offered sacrifices on behalf of them.

And yet for no reason of his own, he finds himself propertyless and childless – just like that. He’s still processing his shock and grief, and instead of becoming bitter toward God, he chooses to worship God!

That’s how we arrive at chapter 2 – where the suffering doesn’t seem to stop. It persists. What do we do when suffering persists? That’s the question that we will seek to answer today.

1. We acknowledge that there are things happening in the background which we don’t understand (v1)

There are things happening in the background which we aren’t privy to.

1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord.

It’s almost like the curtains to God’s throne room have been pulled back. We’ve been given exclusive inside access into one of those throne room discussions.

V1 tells us that the sons of God or angels present themselves before God & similarly Satan also presents himself to God like he did in Chapter 1.

In other words, Satan is answerable & accountable to God. Which tells us that like any other created being, Satan is not an equal to God and he exists under the authority of God.

Sometimes people assume that Satan is equally powerful & authoritative as God’s enemy. No, absolutely not – he is a lesser being and he is subjected under the authority of God.

Although, we know that he hates God’s authority & continuously rebels against that authority. In fact since creation, Satan has been making several attempts to usurp God’s authority – and that’s the biblical storyline which is played out from Genesis to Revelation.

But the main thing we need to take away and admit is that we often don’t understand what happens in the background. Even as all this is happening, Job has no clue about this. (Minutes of the meeting weren’t shared with him).

This should tell us that we should not jump to conclusions when we witness people experience suffering. As Saju explained last week, there is no simple explanation and in fact we should avoid simplistic explanations for suffering. Many times it’s actually not helpful when we try to explain all suffering to some sin that the person committed. We have to acknowledge that suffering is complex and our limitation to understand what happens in the background.

But not only do we acknowledge that there are things happening in the background which we don’t understand, we also

2. We should also acknowledge that there’s no suffering without God’s purpose attached to it (v2-6)

2 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”

V2 & 3 is almost like a repeat of the discussion in Chapter 1 where God commends Job referring to him as His servant (my servant) and then gives the most remarkable testimony of his faith where God says that there’s no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns from evil.

And then God adds a line which is different from Chapter 1. He still holds fast his integrity – despite all that has happened to him, he has not forsaken and sinned against God. He’s maintained his innocence.

And then God accuses Satan and says although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.This can be a troubling verse for us because it almost seems like God is admitting to being tricked, provoked and manipulated into doing something that He didn’t want to do. And if that’s possible, then how different is God from us?

But that’s where we’ll need to filter this through against our understanding of who God in the whole Bible.

From the Bible we know that God is all-knowing who also sees the hidden intentions in His creatures hearts and so there’s no way He can be tricked or provoked or manipulated to doing something that He doesn’t want to do.

That’s what separates God from fallen beings like us. We are weak and flawed. He is not. So then why did God give into the ask from Satan? Let’s look at the previous Chapter. Maybe that might give us a clue – Job 1:9:

Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?

What Satan was trying to do was say that Job’s faithfulness is transactional – matlabi. He loves God only because of the gifts & blessings that God gives Him.

Satan’s challenge was that the moment you take away these gifts and blessings, Job will lose all reason to remain faithful to God. And that’s the same challenge which was being continued in Chapter 2:4-6:

4 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”

So God wasn’t being tricked or provoked or manipulated by Satan. God’s allowing Satan to do this!

Please underline this – God is permitting Satan to do this and also setting clear boundaries for what Satan can do and what he cannot do. Satan is restrained and constrained by the boundaries that God has put for him. He can’t operate independently.

So the question is why? Why is God allowing and permitting Satan to do this? God is allowing this to happen to Job so that the true quality of his faith is uncovered and revealed.

It’s to show if Job’s faithfulness is tied to God’s gifts and blessings or if it’s tied to God Himself. Does Job love the gifts or the gift giver? 

Even as we think about Job, I’m sure it’s also hitting us at a very sensitive spot in our own hearts. Oftentimes suffering and difficulties will uncover and reveal the true quality of our faith.

It will reveal our faith for what it is. It shows us if our faith is tied to all the good blessings and gifts that God gives us or if our faith is tied to God Himself?

If God were to remove the blessings in our life one by one, would we still love God? If God were to remove our comforts, physical health, material wealth, our jobs, relationships one by one, would we still love God? Is God God for us only because of the blessings that He gives? Or is He God just because He is our God and Savior?

Who is God to you and me? If we see God only for the gifts he gives us, then He’s no more than a genie to us – someone who exists to make all our wishes and dreams come true.

But God is not a genie. He is our Creator and Redeemer and in fact one of the reasons Jesus came into the world was to save us from this transactional relationship and help us see Him as the best Gift ever! 

But not only do we acknowledge that there are things happening in the background which we don’t understand & not only should we acknowledge that no suffering is without God’s purpose but

3. We acknowledge that it’s only the truths of God that can keep us rooted in Him during suffering (v7-10)

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.

9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”

10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

In V 7 & 8, we see the after-effects of that meeting in heaven.

After facing the terrible unbearable pain of losing his family & property, if things couldn’t get worse he now carries loathsome sores all over his body – no area was untouched.

It’s not just his physical attractiveness that was affected. Whenever people looked at him, they would see him as someone unclean who needed to be kept at a distance. This was going to impact the way others saw him and related to him.

And it’s at that time that his closest confidant in life speaks to him – V9.

She’s basically telling him “What’s the point in you holding on to this God who has brought this upon you?”

You can imagine how discouraging it was for him to hear that. But not just that, when you’re experiencing such pain and processing that, it’s very easy to get swayed by thoughts like this because we’re in a very vulnerable place. And yet somehow we see Job choose to honor God in that moment.

10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

There’s a rebuke for what was being told to him but more than that there was an acknowledgment of truths that Job knew to be true about God.

He didn’t view God as a genie whose job was to deliver good gifts and blessings to him. He saw God as a wise Father who knows best what needs to be given and what needs to be taken away. Although he didn’t fully understand God’s ways, he wanted to trust in the wisdom and judgments of his God.

I know as we’re hearing some of this, most of us would probably think “this is so difficult to implement. Job was a great holy man, so he was able to trust God. I’m not like Job and I can’t do this”. 

I just want to say that I resonate with that. None of us have it in us to produce this kind of clarity and trust in God especially when we’re hit with unexpected suffering.

That’s why we need God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s help to nail down these truths about God in our hearts, because when we’re being tested that’s when these truths come to our aid.

That’s why the church – form an appetite for good bible theology. It’s not so that we become puffed up in pride and use that as a way to look down at others but so that our hearts are changed so that we’re aided in seasons of suffering to go back to what we know is true about God.

It’s like consuming junk food and consuming healthy food. In the short term, it may seem like junk does the job in filling your stomach but in the long run when sickness and illness hit us, junk food wouldn’t be able to sustain us – in fact it’ll cause more issues. And so that’s why – don’t settle for shallow theology. Form a good solid biblical appetite for God’s Word.

11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

So terrible was his physical condition at the time that Job’s friends failed to recognize him. All they could do was weep and grieve with him because his suffering was so great. In the coming weeks we’ll see if they were actually able to do what they planned to do which was offer sympathy and comfort. But let’s realize that as people who are friends with those suffering, we do have a responsibility.

Just to summarize – what do we do when suffering persists?

• We acknowledge that there are things happening in the background which we don’t understand
• We acknowledge that there’s no suffering without God’s purpose attached to it
• We acknowledge that it’s only the truths of God that can keep us rooted in Him during suffering

How is God calling you to repentance and faith this morning?

Good morning church! A warm welcome to all who have joined us at the hall & those who have tuned in online. Happy New Year! This being the first Sunday of 2025, I wondered what’s the one thing that we all need to focus on at the start of the year?

As I prayed and pondered over this, this passage from John 15 was impressed on my heart. And it’s a wonderful passage that tells us about Abiding in Jesus. But before we proceed, would you join me as we pray and ask God to help us understand and apply this passage?

Every new year gives us another chance to do things that we weren’t successful at doing the previous year. Which is why we have new year resolutions.

And what’s usually at the top of everyone’s list? Improving physical fitness – and that’s why every new year is the best time for gym businesses around the world. Gym memberships see an unusual spike at the start of every year.

Even among believers, we’ve got our own version of spiritual new year resolutions:

• Bible reading plan – to complete the entire bible in one year
• Spend at least 30 minutes of quiet time in prayer and the word daily

But exactly one month into the year, what happens? These spiritual new year resolutions rarely last!  Which often leads to spiritual dryness, disappointment and discouragement and then we wait till next year to re-attempt once again. That’s the typical cycle.

And so these grand new year resolutions which began with great intentions end up becoming a burden for us. Within a month, it ends up looking like any other joyless task. But that’s not God’s intention for us. God wants a relationship not a resolution.He wants an abiding relationship with us.

Brothers and sisters, if you’ve been there & if you’re able to relate with this struggle, then this message is for you. God desires abiding. God wants us to know what it means to abide in Jesus.

Today we’ll learn 6 things about abiding in Jesus from John 15:1-11:

1. Abiding is a gift (V1)

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

Jesus would often use everyday examples to explain spiritual truths to His disciples. So that’s the obvious part that we see in this passage where Jesus uses an everyday example of a vine & branches to explain a spiritual truth. But as I studied this passage, my mind was blown away to realize that there was another reason why Jesus used this specific example.

Firstly, Jesus refers to himself as “I am”. He intentionally uses the word “I am” or “Yahweh” which is the name by which God introduces Himself to Israel in the OT. It’s referring to God’s eternal nature (He’s always existed) and His total rule and authority over every single thing.

That’s the weight in the name. And that’s why Jews would take a lot of care to ensure that it’s not used casually. And yet, here we find Jesus unapologetically saying that the “I am”, that’s me! “I’m the eternal God who’s always existed and rules over every single thing”. 

Secondly, Jesus says that He is the true vine and His Father is the vinedresser. Now we might not get this immediately but for a Jew they would immediately make an OT connection. In the OT, God would often use an example of a vineyard to describe His relationship with His people. Look with me at Isa 5:1-4:

Let me sing for my beloved

          my love song concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard

          on a very fertile hill.

2 He dug it and cleared it of stones,

          and planted it with choice vines;

he built a watchtower in the midst of it,

          and hewed out a wine vat in it;

and he looked for it to yield grapes,

          but it yielded wild grapes.

3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem

          and men of Judah,

judge between me and my vineyard.

4 What more was there to do for my vineyard,

          that I have not done in it?

When I looked for it to yield grapes,

          why did it yield wild grapes?

So God’s people Israel are the vine which God planted with so much of love and care, but it yielded the opposite of what was expected – “wild grapes” which is why judgment has come upon them.

In contrast, Jesus is the True Vine – the True Israel – the True Son – who did exactly what His Father wanted Him to do. He lived a life of perfect obedience. He yielded the fruit which was acceptable to the vinedresser. Where we all failed, Jesus succeeded.

But here’s the amazing truth – Jesus shares His success story and acceptance with everyone who trusts in Him. By dying on the cross for us, Jesus took on the judgment for our failures & unfruitfulness.

And by His resurrection on the Third Day, all of us spiritual failures who trust in Him and are united with Him are now looked on by God as an extension of Jesus’ success story & His acceptance! That’s why we are called branches in this passage – we are silent beneficiaries of Jesus’ success story & acceptance.

Let this truth humble us this morning to realize that Abiding is a gift from God. It’s not a right for any of us. To be able to abide – that in itself is a complete gift!

But not just that,

2. Abiding is pruning (V2-3)

2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

Pruning is a gardening process by which certain parts of plants like branches, leaves or shoots are removed to improve its health, shape and productivity.

V2 tells us that every branch which doesn’t bear fruit is taken away or removed. This isn’t referring to believers but unbelievers. Believers by definition will bear fruit. Some fruit of the Spirit will definitely be visible in that person’s life if he is a believer. Even in seasons where you feel like you aren’t growing, some fruit will be there because the Spirit of God is within you.

But for the true branches that bear fruit, V2 says that the vinedresser will prune us, will cleanse us, will clip out everything that is not good for us so that we can bear more fruit. That is what the Father is committed to doing. How does He do that?

V3 – through the word that Jesus has spoken. God’s primary way of pruning us, cleansing us, clipping away the unhealthy stuff is through His Word. That’s why spiritual growth cannot happen outside of God’s Word.

Over everything else in our church, we prioritize God’s Word because that’s God’s primary way of pruning us. And if this is God’s primary way of pruning, then we need to expect God’s Word to make us uncomfortable. We need to expect God’s Word to reveal many things that we need to unlearn. We need to expect God’s Word to convict us of many things that we need to repent of.

If that’s not happening, then something might be wrong. Then we need to question if we are being pruned. If we are not being pruned, we need to question if we are truly in the faith because the Father will not stop doing what He is committed to doing.

And so when we sit down with God’s Word everyday, we need to expect pruning to take place. We need to sit down with the expectation that I will have to unlearn and change myself because the Father is in the process of pruning.

Abiding is pruning! But also,

3. Abiding is depending (V4-6)

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. That word “Abide” is a beautiful word – It means – Remain in me – Be attached to me. Jesusis explains the concept of abiding by telling us that we are not the vine or the stem, we are simply the branches attached to the vine.

We know that the plant gets all of its nourishment & strength from the stem or the vine and not the branches. So for the branch to be fruitful, it can’t do it by itself, it has to be attached to the vine.

By using this example, Jesus is making it clear that we aren’t independent people. We aren’t self-sufficient people. We cannot bear any fruit apart from Jesus. “Apart from me you can do nothing”. Nothing? Something I can do right? Nothing!

Such a humbling verse right? It hits at the core of our pride. Sometimes as believers we get into this thinking where we admit that we needed grace to believe, but then after that it’s up to our discipline and commitment which makes us grow. What does this verse say? “Apart from me you can do nothing”.

Which means that you may be a year into the faith or seventy years into the faith, your status is still the same – you are simply a branch who needs to abide in Jesus. You are totally dependent on Jesus.

What would it look like if we woke up every day this year not saying – “what all can I accomplish today by myself?” but rather declaring “Jesus, apart from you I can do nothing”. “Apart from you, I have no hope to grow spiritually, I have no hope to grow physically, mentally, financially, relationally”. That’s total utter dependence on Jesus for our nourishment and strength.

But not just that,

4. Abiding is surrendering (V7-8)

7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

If we read V7 quickly, we might wrongly assume that God is telling us to wish for anything and he’ll give it to us as though he was a genie or a personal vending machine.

But that’s not what the verse is saying. It’s telling us that if we abide in Jesus and His words in us, then whatever we wish will be done for us. In other words, as Jesus’ words shape our hearts, we will desire and ask for things which are in accordance with His will and that will yield answered prayer.

God is glorified in those prayers which are made according to His will. And that’s why I think it’s more appropriate to see these verses as surrendering – surrendering to God’s will in prayer.

Many times we think about prayer as only asking things from God. Now that’s one part of it, but more than that God wants us to surrender ourselves to His will through our prayers.

When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane just before his crucifixion, what did He pray?

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)

And when He taught the disciples how to pray in Matt 6, what did He teach right at the start of the prayer:

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,[b]

    on earth as it is in heaven. (Matt 6:10)

As God speaks to us daily through His Word, we should expect that it changes our prayer life. The tone of our prayers should change from demanding to surrendering.

If you and I were to go and stand before a powerful king, would we go there and just make demands? No, we would put forward our requests with a disclaimer – “as long as you’re okay with this”. And so when it comes to God – we know His authority, we know His character and we also know what He wants through the Word, and so that should change the way we pray and surrender ourselves to Him.

But not only that,

5. Abiding is obeying (V9-10)

9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

Jesus is saying that just as He abides in the Father’s love by obeying His commandments, He wants us to abide in Him by obeying His commandments. Abiding happens through obedience. Just one chapter earlier in Jn 14:15, Jesus said this “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

He doesn’t say “If you love me, you will know 1000 worship songs by heart”. He doesn’t say “If you love me, you will have the bible knowledge of a theologian”. He says that “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”.

Now knowing 1000 worship songs or bible knowledge isn’t bad. But the question is – what’s the point in knowing 1000 worship songs and having all the bible knowledge in the world if there isn’t obedience? If there isn’t any obedience, can we really say that we love Jesus? In Jesus’ economy, obedience counts more than anything else.

That’s why if we’re really trying to abide in Jesus, it can’t be limited to our 30 minute daily quiet time or our weekly Sunday gathering. Our abiding actually happens throughout the day and throughout the week – because that’s when we actually have to obey what we have heard and read. That’s when we have the opportunity to express our love for Jesus. That’s when our love is actually tested – after a stressful day of work, after a conflict at home. But that’s not to say that obedience means perfection. God knows that we are prone to fail daily, and so oftentimes our obedience involves confession.

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

Obeying God means not hiding from God, neither does it mean justifying before God but confessing to God so that we can receive forgiveness and cleansing daily.

But not just that,

6. Abiding is enjoying

11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

The reason why God wants us to abide in Jesus is because He wants us to experience joy to the fullest! He’s not trying to suck the joy out of our life but He wants us to truly enjoy our relationship with Him!

And again that can’t be limited to a 30 minute quiet time. Imagine if I were to sit down with my wife and tell her – “Honey, I’m giving you 30 minutes of my time. Make the most of it. Tell me all that you need to tell me & all that I need to do within these 30 minutes”.

It would be offensive and dishonorable to her if I were to reduce our relationship to simply 30 minutes every day. What she wants is a relationship which I would enjoy with her, not a task or a chore that I somehow need to complete.

Oftentimes that’s what we reduce our relationship with God to. And God doesn’t want that, He wants a real abiding relationship where we would enjoy being with Him. And to tell you the truth – there might be seasons in life where 30 minutes would be a luxury.

Ask young moms who are scrambling between responsibilities to care for their infants that they don’t have enough time to sleep. But even in those seasons, they can still abide in Jesus. How? Even in the little time that they can have with the Word:

1. They can acknowledge how abiding is a gift from God
2. They can show their openness to be pruned by God
3. They can express their total dependence on Christ
4. They can surrender themselves to God’s Word and will
5. They can commit to obedience and confession
6. They can enjoy their relationship with Jesus

So this 2025, don’t work towards a spiritual new year resolution. Work towards abiding in Jesus! 

Good morning church! Hope you’re well. As a church we began a new Advent series titled Receive the King. And what we’ve been trying to do is reflect on what it means to receive Jesus into our lives – not just as a baby or as a holiday symbol but as the King of our lives!

Couple of weeks back we spoke about the Prophecy about the King – prior prophecies were given to God’s people to prepare them for this coming King. Last week we spoke about the Lineage of the King – Jesus is the centre point of human history & all the covenant promises given to Abraham & David – and his lineage and genealogy is evidence for it.

Today we’ll talk about the Birth of the King. One thing we can all agree to is that in terms of the prophecy & lineage regarding Jesus, it’s nothing short of extraordinary. Similarly, even the birth of Jesus is nothing short of extraordinary! It was an extraordinary event! There was nothing ordinary about how Jesus came into the scene & what He came to do. But before we move ahead, I’d love to pray for us.

In many movies, they introduce a surprise character entry somewhere in the middle of the movie. It’s usually the point of the movie where the tension has built up to its peak.

It seems like the bad guys are winning, and the good guys are losing. And when we least expect, is when the surprise character bursts into the scene & lowers our blood pressure.

And in some ways that’s how Jesus Christ is being introduced into the biblical storyline. The only difference here is that God’s people have been given hints throughout the Old Testament about a coming King. In that sense, it’s not really a surprise.

But yes, the surprise was in terms of the timing because people didn’t know when Jesus would appear & also in the details of what He was going to come and do. Hints and clues were dropped in the Bible but people didn’t have the full picture.

So what Matthew is trying to do here is after laying down the foundation of Jesus’ lineage, is unravel the details about this King! He’s beginning to show how this King is no ordinary king. Everything about him is extraordinary!

So today we’ll look at 3 extraordinary aspects from the Birth of the King:

1. Extraordinary circumstances (v18-20)

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed[f] to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

The circumstances in which Jesus was born was in no way ordinary! V18 introduces us to this recently engaged or betrothed couple Joseph & Mary.

Just to help us understand the context – a betrothal was different from how we perform engagements nowadays. In those days, betrothed couple would need to have a marriage agreement in place which was legally bound & it was done in front of a witness.

The only way you could be break the betrothal is through a process of divorce. That’s way different from how we view engagements today. In our modern day and age, engagements are simply a formality indicating our intention to marry someone but there’s no marriage agreement which is being signed.

And now you can imagine the difficult, confusing situation that this recently engaged couple finds themselves in. Joseph gets to know that Mary is already pregnant – and the only plausible rationale is that she probably had committed adultery with another man. All the expectations that Joseph was building up to his wedding day immediately came crashing down. All he can experience now is betrayal, hurt and confusion. How was he going to respond?

And yet in V19 it tells us something interesting about how Joseph responded. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

The punishment for adultery was not just shame & humiliation but was death! According to the OT, any person involved in adultery was to be stoned to death!

The easiest thing for Joseph to have done was to shame & humiliate Mary who he thought did all this to him, but we can see the character of this man that even as he was experiencing deep betrayal and hurt, he wanted to protect Mary. He didn’t want her to be shamed. So he contemplated a quiet divorce.

But as he contemplating through this. As he wrestled through his emotions, V20 tells us that an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. We see God’s providence to comfort this newly engage couple but not just that, to advance His plan of redemption. Yes, protect their marriage off course but the big picture is to move forward God’s plan of redemption!

How does the angel address Joseph? Joseph, son of David. It’s not by coincidence that the angel calls him that. Joseph – in the lineage of David – he’s playing a part in God’s redemptive plan to unveil the coming King.

And then the angel goes on to instruct him to not fear, to not be frightened to take Mary as a wife because her conception is from the Holy Spirit not a result of adultery.

The angel is making it abundantly clear that the child who is in Mary’s womb is not a result of physical, sexual relations between 2 individuals but a miracle of God to set God’s redemptive plan into motion.

The obvious question is why did it have to happen this way? Why did it have to happen through a virgin birth? Why was it necessary to conceive by the Holy Spirit and not by natural means?

The reason was to preserve this truth about Jesus – that He was fully human & fully divine at the same time. It wasn’t as though Jesus suddenly came into existence during His earthly birth. No, He’s the eternal God who Has always existed. This is how apostle John refers to Jesus in John 1:

John 1:1-3: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Everything else in creation has been created with a start date. But not Jesus, He’s always existed. He is the pre-existent God. That divine nature had to be preserved even as He entered into the world, and so the only way that could be done is through the virgin birth where He was conceived with the help of the Holy Spirit.

And so as we think about the Birth of the King, let this truth of the extraordinary circumstances of Jesus’ birth amaze you & draw you to worship. That the pre-existent God would chose to enter into our shoes, put on the clothes of humanity while still maintaining His divine nature. What an amazing, extraordinary God we serve?

But not only do we extraordinary circumstances during the Birth of the King, but we also see

2. Extraordinary calling (v21)

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

In biblical times, the name given to person had a much greater significance than just identifying that person. To know a person’s name was to know something about that person’s character & nature.

And here the earthly parents didn’t get to choose from a catalogue of baby names but the angel told them precisely what to name the child – he told them to name him Jesus which means “God saves” – for He will save his people from their sins.

Right at the start itself, we have clarity on what is the calling of the King – what is the mission of this King – what is the purpose of the King – to save His people from their sins!

That word “save” means to be “delivered, rescued, protected”. It’s the idea of people being in grave danger like drowning in an ocean and desperately needing someone to rescue them.

What do we need to be saved from? We need to be saved from our sins. This ocean in which we are drowning, suffocating and struggling to breathe is our own sins.

That’s something that we don’t readily acknowledge. Even referring ourselves as sinners doesn’t come naturally to us. If we had to describe ourselves: we’d first list out all our accomplishments, all our good works and then maybe leave a couple of line for a few sin mentions.

But that’s not how the Bible views it. Look at the way in which our sinful condition is described in Ephesians 2:1-3

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body[a] and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

This passage takes it one step further by saying that we’re not just drowning in sin, we are dead in our sins. We are lifeless.

And this life of sin is not just minor faults or mistakes that we make through the day, sin consumes every aspect of our lives and a result of that is that we are objects of God’s wrath. And we know that being an object of God’s wrath and punishment is not a good thing. That’s why we’re in grave danger!

But for Jesus – “for He will save His people from their sins”. What’s expected from God is wrath, judgment and punishment for all that we’ve done. What’s unexpected from God is to be the Same One who saves, rescues and protects us from that judgment. That’s unbelievable.

That’s why Jesus came – to boldly go up and that cross and bear the wrath of God to save, rescue and protect us from our sins.

That’s Jesus’ single-minded calling. He didn’t come to be a healer – though He did heal people. He didn’t come to be a teacher – though He taught quite a bit. He didn’t come to change the politics of the land – though rulers and kings became quite threatened by Him. He didn’t come to give people a better, comfortable life – though He promised people of a better life in the afterlife. He came to save people from their sins!

Do you recognize the extraordinary calling & mission that Jesus came to fulfil? You’ll only find that calling precious and valuable if you see yourself as someone drowning in the ocean of sin.

If you feel like you’re on a boat or on a cruise, then you’ll never value and appreciate the single-minded calling and purpose and mission of Jesus Christ. But if you see yourself as drowning in sin, then be hopeful and assured because your Saviour has come. He has come to save His people from their sins. His name is His mission statement.

Not only do we see extraordinary circumstances and extraordinary calling, but in the Birth of the King we also see

3. Extraordinary commitment to be with us (v22-23)

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”(which means, God with us).

The word “Immanuel” is a word that we often hear said or sung during Christmas season especially with songs like “O come O come Emmanuel”. We’ve become very familiar with the term Immanuel but I feel like the impact sometimes gets lost.

So the word means “God with us” as defined in V23. But let’s take a minute to understand what a big deal this truth is for broken sinners like us. Broken sinners like us have no business being around Holy God & that’s what makes this such a big deal!

Let’s rewind back to the creation story where we see the first glimpses of “God with us”. After creating Adam and Eve, we see that God spoke to them, walked with them & provided for them. They looked forward to being with God. There was immense safety and security in their relationship with God.

But all of that quickly changed after their rebellion in the garden. Genesis 3 tells us that after sinning, they hid from God! They no longer looked forward to being with God. Instead of safety and security, they now experienced immense fear & guilt in their relationship with God.

That feeling of fear and guilt in front of God has been transferred to every single human who has ever lived. All of us know what fear and guilt means.

Just when the idea of “God with us” seemed impossible, God introduced an arrangement of the tabernacle / temple where God could still be with us but it wasn’t the same. Everyone didn’t have access to God, only a select few during certain times of the year after observing certain rituals. Still not the same as it was earlier. “God with us” at this point seems like a distant dream.

But then we come to the New Testament, and we find out that this God is so committed to be with us that He sends His Son to step into the shoes of humanity & then die on the cross for us so that every barrier that stood between us and God could be removed once and for all.

For those who trust in Jesus, no more fear and guilt in our relationship with God. He’s restored back the safety and security which was lost. We can finally look forward to being with God. And to top it all, He’s placed His Holy Spirit within us to remind us that “God with us” is a definite reality!

And don’t assume that this “God with us” is a temporary reality, Jesus tells us this in Matt 28:20: And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Revelation 21:1-4 ESV

[1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. [2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. [4] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

From start to end, this is a story of God’s extraordinary commitment to be with us! What’s your response going to be to this King who has shown such extraordinary commitment to make “God with you” a reality? Do you look forward to being with God today? What defines your relationship with God today? Is it safety and security or is it fear and guilt?

Brothers and sisters, the Birth of the King is no ordinary event! It tells us about:

• Extraordinary circumstances surrounding His virgin birth
• Extraordinary calling to save people from their sins
• Extraordinary commitment to be with us

Good morning church! Hope you’re well. So glad that we have another opportunity to gather together as God’s people and hear from God’s Word. It’s a privilege!

As we’ve entered this Advent season, we’ve begun a new month-long series titled Receive the King. And what we want to do through this series is reflect on what it means to receive Jesus – not simply as a baby or a holiday symbol but as our True King! Last week Saju preached on The Prophecy about the King & today we will spend some time on The Lineage of the King.

Now at the outset I want to acknowledge that this is not a simple passage to interact with. Some of us who aren’t into history or list of names are probably thinking that “this is the history lesson that I did not sign up for”. Or if there was an option to “Skip Intro” & directly jump into the action of Jesus’ birth, then that’s what we would go for.

But the reason why we’re tackling this text is because we believe that “All Scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction & training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). Every single verse (including passages on genealogies) is a 100 percent God’s Word & relevant for every believer.

But it’s not just that, Matthew who is the author of this Gospel account has intentionally put the genealogy in there to serve a purpose. We’ll come to that in just a bit, but first let’s pray and ask God for help to interpret and apply this passage in our lives.

Before we get into the genealogy and why it’s in there, I think it’s important for us to understand the context. The context always reveals a story!

Throughout the OT, one consistent pattern that we observe is that God speaks & tells His people about a coming Messiah. Despite all the ups and downs of God’s people, that consistent pattern of God speaking & telling them about a coming Messiah continues…up until prophet Malachi.

After Malachi, something unusual happens. There’s pin drop silence…for 400 years! For 400 years between Malachi and Matthew, there’s no hearing from God & there’s no message about a coming Messiah. Pin drop silence!

Just imagine what must have gone through the minds of God’s people. “Has God forgotten us? Is He mad at us? Has He changed His mind about sending us a Messiah? Have we really messed up bad this time? Has God’s grace been exhausted once and for all? Has God shut the door on us forever?”

And it’s in the midst of that where we hear the comforting words of Matthew like a glass of cool water on a hot day: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham”.

God hasn’t shut the door on His people after all! That’s precisely why Matthew wrote this book. And as a proof that this IS the real deal…this is the main thing, he starts out with the genealogy. He starts out with the Lineage of the King.

3 things that we learn from the Lineage of the King:

1. We get to know that Jesus is Centrepoint of all human history

He is the focus & culmination of all human history. All of human history has been marching towards the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (v1)

Genealogies played a very important role in the life of a Jew. Genealogies were used to establish a person’s credibility, position in society & inheritance rights.

Even if we go to the countryside or our native villages, we’ll find that people often ask us about our family name & background to establish our credibility, position in society & inheritance.

Similarly, Matthew uses the genealogy or lineage of Jesus to establish Jesus’ credibility, position & inheritance rights.

And Matthew does that by referencing him to Abraham & David. Now both of them were ancestors, but more than that Matthew intentionally mentioned these two “biblical hall of famers” to establish a direct connection between God’s covenant promises (God’s unbreakable promise) that He made with Abraham & David.

In other words, the arrival of Jesus was no accident. It was rooted in the covenant promises which were made centuries before with Abraham and David.

What were those covenant promises?

• Abraham

Way back in Gen 22:18, God made a covenant promise with Abraham: and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed

Who is this offspring? Not Isaac. Paul explains who this offspring is in Gal 3:16: Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

So Jesus Christ is the promised offspring by whom blessing would flow out not just to the nation of Israel but all nations of the earth!!

• David

God made a covenant promise with David in 2 Sam 7:16: And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.[c] Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Take a minute to think about the enormity of this promise. It’s one thing to promise David that he and members of his family will reign for the next 10 or 20 generations.

It’s whole another thing to promise David that his family’s throne would last forever! He was going to have a permanent, unending, forever reign!

And the crazy part is that in V11 it seems like this forever plan didn’t work out: and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

Jechoniah was the last of Israelite kings who reigned for only mere 3 months before the mighty Babylonians came and captured the entire nation & took them back as prisoners & slaves.

Was God just exaggerating just like some of tag lines that say “Diamonds are forever”? Or was God actually serious about doing this? And if God was serious, did God actually have the power to see this promise to the end?

V16 gives us the answer – and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ which means Anointed One. All of history was being prepared for the revelation & unveiling of the Christ – the anointed One who was specifically selected to fulfill these covenant promises and have a permanent, unending, forever reign!

What’s unbelievable is that the timeline between the time when God made the covenant promise with Abraham & the coming of Jesus Christ was nearly 2000 years! And if we go back to Adam, that would have been 4000 years.

So think about this – God had to orchestrate all human history with all of its ups and downs and turns to ensure that it was all moving towards this centre point and focus – which was the revealing and unveiling of this Promised Forever King who was going to be the source of great blessing to all nations of the earth. He is the centerpoint of all human history.

But not just that, but through the lineage

2. We get to know that Jesus is the Saviour for all kinds of people

As we look at the list of names throughout this passage, we’ll notice a few unexpected mentions – some of them who have made questionable moral choices are included.

V3 – Judah is mentioned as the father of Perez & Zerah by Tamar. This was the result of a sad, outrageous sexual encounter with Tamar who was Judah’s daughter in law. She disguised herself as a prostitute and became pregnant with Judah’s child.

V5 – Boaz’s mother was Rahab – who was a prostitute living in land of Jericho & because she spared the Israelite spies out of confidence in God, she and her family’s lives were spared when Jericho was conquered. Also, Joshua allowed her to live among the people of Israel – in other words, even though she was a Gentile she was integrated into God’s people.

V5 – Ruth was also Gentile – a Moabite to be precise. Moabites were actually enemies of God’s people for the longest time and Israelites were commanded to not marry them primarily because they would lead the people into idolatry.

But in Ruth’s case, she embraced and feared the Israelite God as her own and the result is that not only was she included into God’s people but also along with Boaz, she became the grandparents of the most loved Israelite king David.

And as I read the list, it’s quite surprising that these names feature on the list. If any of us were given the choice to design the lineage of Jesus Christ, I’m pretty sure we would have come up with a list very different from this.

Many of these names would have been rejected because of their moral choices and because they don’t fit the bill of respectable people in society & yet God doesn’t have any such qualms in using them in the lineage of Christ. And I wondered why was that the case?

I think it was to show us the scope of Jesus’ saving grace – for all kinds of people! Not just the ones whom we by our worldly standards would qualify as cultured, well-mannered, respectable & religious.

Jesus Christ in fact has special interest in those who in the world are considered as the back-benchers in religious life…the black sheep…the outcasts…the worthless.

In fact, this was something that Matthew understood up close and first hand. Let’s not forget that he used to be a tax collector who needed to collect taxes on behalf of the Romans.

But most of the time these tax collectors would be corrupted & would take more than they needed. Hence, they became the most disliked people in Jewish society. If people needed to take an example of the worst sinners, they would often think of a tax collector.

So that was his life until Jesus met him. What’s amazing is that Jesus sees him while he’s in the middle of collecting taxes & instead of judging him despite everything Jesus knew about him, he calls him to follow him!

Immediately Matthew gets up, leaves his work in the middle of the day, follows Jesus & then is later seen dining with Jesus. Some Pharisees who saw Jesus hanging out with Matthew and his tax collector friends were not happy and asked Jesus’ disciples why Jesus did that. And this is Jesus’ response. It’s the most remarkable response – “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” – Mark 2:17

The point Jesus is trying to make is not to say that there are some people who need Jesus, and some who don’t. All of us are sick and helpless in our sin. But often times it’s the ones who have already hit rock bottom in their sin who will humbly and desperately turn to Jesus Christ.

Those who see themselves as morally good will find it extremely hard to turn to Jesus Christ because they simply don’t see any reason to do it. And so Matthew understood that despite being on the blacklist of religion, he was still not out of the reach of Jesus’ saving grace. He is truly a Saviour for all people.

But not only does the lineage of the King help us know that Jesus is the centrepoint of human history and that He is a Savior for all people, but it helps us

3. To know that Jesus is Superior than all other kings

This list mentions quite a few kings in the lineage – some were good kings – others were wicked kings. But the most well known and loved out of all of them was King David. In the heart and mind of every Israelite, he was the ideal king.

In fact, the bible describes him as “a is man after God’s heart” (1 Sam 13:14). Wow! What a testimony about the kind of person He was. And yet this is how David is mentioned in V6: 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah

It’s interesting that Matthew doesn’t filter out his description. He doesn’t try to sound politically correct. He doesn’t conveniently overlook certain character flaws in David. No, he tells it as it is: David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah. He was guilty of committing adultery with Bathsheba and then tried to cover it up. And when the cover up failed, he ended up murdering Uriah – Bathsheba’s husband.

Although King David does repent & receive forgiveness from God later on, it’s humbling to recognize that someone as ideal as King David was, as gifted as King David was & as faithful as King David was – was ultimately broken & deeply flawed. At best he could offer a faint glimpse of what the perfect King would be, but He could never be that perfect King.

But where King David and the other kings failed, King Jesus succeeded. This King Jesus lived the perfect life unto God that you and I were required to live but failed to live.

And then this King Jesus sacrifices His own life on the cross to pay for our failures. This concept of self-sacrifice is sometimes hard to comprehend in our world where people who are in high authoritative positions will do whatever it takes to protect themselves even if it means throwing others under a bus.

And here’s our King who willingly puts Himself in harms way to pay for our multiple moral failures. He dies on the cross, gets buried and then on the third Day rises from the dead to give us what we couldn’t earn – His own perfect life credited to our name with a brand-new identity & relationship with the Father which will last unto eternity.

Wow! What a wonderful King Jesus is!

I’ve always wondered why do elections become very emotional & personal for many people. Obviously, there are the immediate practical needs like state of the economy & safety which have a direct impact on people’s lives.

But I feel that deep down there’s a longing in every heart a true ruler who will govern us with fairness, justice & kindness. Maybe all of us are longing for a True King. Well, today’s passage introduces us to the lineage of that True King:

1. This King Jesus is the Centrepoint of all human history
2. This King Jesus is the Savior for all people
3. This King Jesus is Superior to than all other kings