Author: Jinson Thomas

Sermon

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

Post author By Jinson Thomas
Post date July 15, 2016

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

Read Nehemiah 7:5-73

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

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

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

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

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

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With regards to this, we can learn two things:

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

1. God zealously desires His worship

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. God lovingly pursues His people

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

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

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

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

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

Praise God for loving kindness and faithfulness!

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

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

Sermon

What’s Your Defense Strategy? (Nehemiah 6:1-14)

Post author By Jinson Thomas
Post date June 29, 2016
No Comments on What’s Your Defense Strategy? (Nehemiah 6:1-14)

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If you were asked this question “How complete is your defence against those who would side-track you?” what would your honest answer be? One thing we tend to forget as Christians is that we’re constantly in wartime. There is a battle going on! Scripture is very clear about the battle:

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:11-13)

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And this attack can come in two forms:

From within (Indwelling sin)
From outside (other people who distract us from doing what God calls us to do)

Therefore, it becomes very critical for us to know what our weak spots are and to also have a defense strategy in place to tackle that. And this passage from Nehemiah provides us with a good defense strategy.

1. Dedicated focus on the things of God

When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates— 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages[a] on the plain of Ono.” But they were scheming to harm me; 3 so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” 4 Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer. (Nehemiah 6:1-4)

As the rebuilding project is almost over we see how Sanballat, Tobiah and their cohorts deceptively try to pull Nehemiah aside with the intention of harming him. They knew that if the leader of Judah was attacked, it would immediately stop the rebuilding work. So they ask Nehemiah to meet them on the plain of Ono and made it seem like it was a well-intentioned discussion among the leaders of different nations. Nehemiah suspected otherwise because these were the people who fiercely opposed him and the work in Jerusalem from the start. They consistently discouraged, despised and deceived them from continuing the work. He knew that they were pulling their last straw to get him and his people to stop the work. What is fascinating is the response Nehemiah gives to his enemies. Even if the proposed meeting was sincere and well intentioned, Nehemiah doesn’t allow the good to get in the way of the better. He says in v3: I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you.

He understood the seriousness of the task at hand and was determined to finish what God called him to do! We see a man with a single minded focus! He couldn’t afford any lapses because he knew that it would cause the entire work to stop.

What would it mean for us to have that kind of dedicated focus on the things of God? In fact we see a great deal of focus when people work out in the gym, play games or when we try to meet the deadline or sales targets but the sad truth is that we don’t show that kind of focus when it comes to God. That’s why many young people show a great deal of enthusiasm and focus to serve God until they get married. After that serving the Lord finds no place in their lives. Another thing we see is how young Christians claim to have such a burden to reach out to the lost in their city but the moment an attractive oversees job offer comes their way, they’ll abandon that calling to follow their desires. Why is it that we don’t have a dedicated focus? It’s because we lack a passion for the glory of God. There are competing desires and passions in our heart. A passion for the glory of God will drive us to have a dedicated focus on the things of God.

2. Dependence on the promises of God

Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter 6 in which was written: “It is reported among the nations—and Geshem[b] says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king 7 and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet together.”8 I sent him this reply: “Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.” 9 They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.” (v5-9)

Sanballat and the other enemies were trying to instil fear in the hearts of the people with this unsealed letter. Obviously nobody wants to be perceived as opposing the King. By frightening the public, they were hoping to make them stop working on the walls. In spite of these threats, Nehemiah didn’t jitter. We know that because in these verses he doesn’t react by either trying to talk to the King and sort things out or meet with Sanballat to discuss further steps. Rather he responds by rubbishing their allegations. Secondly, you see him firmly trusting in God’s plan of rebuilding the walls. (v9) This has been a consistent pattern of his life. (Neh 2:8,12,18,20; 4:20)

At all times, either good or bad, before beginning his mission or during the mission, he always turns to God for help and trusts in His providence. What would it look like for us to exemplify that kind of prayer life and trust on God’s promises? Sometimes we may think that Nehemiah was a superstar of the faith and he was able to that. The truth is we all have access to the same God. So what if we had a prayer life and a trust like his? Would that completely turn our lives around?

3. Discernment through the Word of God

One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.”

11 But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” 12 I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me. (v10-13)

The prophecy of Shemaiah was intended to put fear in his heart and cause him to sin because the OT law forbade people other than priests from entering the sanctuary of God (Num 18:7). If Nehemiah gave into fear, he would’ve broken the law, disobeyed God, received the taunts of the enemy and then be discredited as a godly leader of the people. And that could put all of the work to halt. Instead you see Nehemiah recognizing that Shemaiah was a false prophet because he knew what the Word said and a true prophet would not contradict God’s law and make him sin. What can we learn from this? How can we distinguish between what’s really God’s will for us and the words of a false prophet or a misguided person?

We can do that by asking two questions:

Does it contradict God’s Word? Scripture is the final, decisive authority to know what the will of God is. We know that from different Scriptures (Prov 30:5, 6; 2 Tim 3:16) Anybody who contradicts or rejects the teaching of Scripture cannot be considered a true prophet/reliable witness of God.
Does the counsel/advice lead me to love, trust and obey God? We know from John 14:15 that God is interested in the obedience of His people. A person’s love for God is characterized by his obedience. If the counsel isn’t leading us to love, trust and obey God then it’s clearly not in line with what God wants in our lives.

Therefore, it makes it ever so important to know what Scripture says in order to know the will of God.

What are the weak spots in the walls of your heart that need shoring up? It needs to be identified and then defended by dedicated focus on the things of God, dependence on the promises of God and discernment through the Word of God.

Sermon

A promise filled partnership with God. (Nehemiah 4:9-14)

Post author By Jinson Thomas
Post date June 1, 2016
No Comments on A promise filled partnership with God. (Nehemiah 4:9-14)

Nehemiah 4:9-14

And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night. In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.” So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

Background to the text: The story of Nehemiah starts out by mentioning the great trouble and shame that came upon the Israelites because the city walls were broken and the gates were destroyed by fire. On hearing this news, Nehemiah fasts and weeps for many days confessing his sins and the sins of the people. He knew that the reason why they were in trouble was because of the sins of the people. The walls were a mirror image of the condition of their hearts. The hearts of the people were far away from God.

In the midst of that God calls Nehemiah out of his life of comfort to lead the people back to God. God provides favor in the eyes of the King, he approves of the rebuilding plan and the Jews finally after 150 years start rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. You can imagine how big a deal it was for them! Two weeks back we looked at the first eight verses of Chapter 4 where we find a lot of opposition to the rebuilding work.

The enemy cities around Jerusalem taunted them and plotted ways to hinder the work. We learnt that there’s always a cost when it comes to obeying God’s Word. There is opposition from within – your own flesh and there’s opposition on the outside – when you’re persecuted and insulted. We need to be a community of Jesus followers willing to pay the cost for being obedient to God.

Today we’ll be looking through verses 9-14 of Chapter 4. I believe the text teaches us two things:

1. The priority of prayer
2. What it means to be in a Promise filled Partnership with God

The Priority of Prayer

V8 And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. 9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

In verses 8, we see how the enemy nations get together and plot against the Jews to distract them from rebuilding the walls. They were furious when they came to know that the walls were being rebuilt. They concluded that the elevation of Jerusalem meant the depression of their state and an insult to their national dignity. They couldn’t allow that to happen so they began to plot and scheme.

V9 says that in response to that Jerusalem prayed to God!

In the previous chapters, we’ve already seen how Nehemiah turned to God in prayer at every point. Now it’s beginning to rub off on the Israelites as well.

Genuine faith is always contagious!

Why did they have to pray in the first place? Didn’t God already know that they were facing severe opposition? Doesn’t Jesus say that “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him”? (Matt 6:8) What happens when we pray? I think it’s a good time to remind ourselves about the doctrine of prayer.

The truth is that God doesn’t want us to pray so that he can find out what we need. He already knows. He wants us to pray so that our dependence on Him can increase. When we approach God in prayer, we express a trust in Him, that God hears and answers our prayers. That’s why Jesus compares our prayers to a child asking his father for a fish or an egg (Lk 11:9-11). A child expects and trusts his father to provide for his needs. Similarly we ought to expect, in faith that God will provide for us. Our dependency on God increases through prayer.

Secondly, God does not only desire that our trust in Him grows through prayer, but He also wants our love and our relationship with Him to deepen. What happens when we truly pray is that the wholeness of our character relates to the wholeness of God’s character. What I mean by that is that everything we think and feel about God also gets communicated while praying to God. This in turn will deepen our love and understanding of God, and therefore deepens our relationship with Him. God absolutely delights in that! And God loves that! He delights that you make much of Him as you pray!

Lastly, what happens when we pray is that it allows us to be participants of a story that is bigger than our own. Through prayer, we are aligned to God’s kingdom purposes that have eternal significance. Isn’t that what Jesus referred to when he prayed the Lord’s prayer: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. It’s not without reason that great revivals broke out of an intense time of prayer.

Prayer is THE thing for a believer in Christ. Your dependence of God increases, your love and relationship with Him grows and it realigns you to God’s will and gives you a burden for eternal purposes. I like one definition that I heard about prayer: Prayer is a very important vehicle through which God accomplishes His purposes through our lives!

How often have we viewed “prayer” as something so vital and indispensable to the Christian walk? Why do you go to God in prayer? Do you seek to depend more on God, trust Him more fully, deepen your love relationship with Him and align your life to God’s will through prayer?

And I think the phrase “we prayed to our God” should push us to also focus on corporate prayer. When a brother or a sister in the Lord shares a struggle, when we think about the lost in the city, when we think about growing in our love for Christ, does it move us to pray as a church?

Prayer must be a priority for a Christian both personally and corporately!

What it means to be in a Promise filled Partnership with God

Now we’ll come across three different types of challenges that we face while trying to do what God has asked us to do. I’ll list down the three challenges and then we’ll look at the faithful response to those challenges:

1) The enormity of the problem

In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” (v10)

They suddenly realized that the vigor and strength of the porters who carried the load were wavering. They were becoming weaker. They saw the debris on the ground and they were like “we can’t do this! It’s impossible.”

Have we been in a similar place before? You’re looking at the circumstance around you and you feel defeated. The problem is too huge to be fixed. Maybe it’s a struggle with sin, you’ve tried different ways of removing and controlling it, but you’re left helpless and defeated. You respond by “I can’t do this. It’s impossible”. Maybe you’re crushed by the weight of the task to reach the lost. You look around you at 23 million people and it leaves you feeling perplexed and discouraged. Maybe it’s a broken relationship with a family member or a friend, you don’t think there’s a possibility of seeing that relationship restored and so you’ve given up. The problem is enormous!

2) The threat of the enemy

11 And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.”

The enemy’s plan was to secretly surprise and invade the Israelites as they were building the walls. By killing the Jews, the work would inevitably stop. That was their aim. Just think about the Israelites, what were they risking in the rebuilding process? Their own lives!What would happen if someone threatened you because of your faith? You’re living out your faith radically but that doesn’t settle too well with some people. Have you considered that cost of following Jesus? Maybe it’s not physical persecution in your case but what about social and psychological persecution. What would happen if you were threatened to be removed from your circle of friends because of your love for Jesus? Or being mocked and insulted for being a Jesus follower?

What would happen if someone threatened you because of your faith? You’re living out your faith radically but that doesn’t settle too well with some people. Have you considered that cost of following Jesus? Maybe it’s not physical persecution in your case but what about social and psychological persecution. What would happen if you were threatened to be removed from your circle of friends because of your love for Jesus? Or being mocked and insulted for being a Jesus follower?What about persecution in your college or workplace? What if obedience to Christ cost you your job or your studies? You were trying to share your faith but it didn’t go down well with the management. These threats hit us at the core of our faith because of the cost involved.

What about persecution in your college or workplace? What if obedience to Christ cost you your job or your studies? You were trying to share your faith but it didn’t go down well with the management. These threats hit us at the core of our faith because of the cost involved.

3) The discouragement from family and friends

At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.”(v12)

Ten times! Ten times family members and friends of the Jews who heard these enemy threats came and tried to persuade the Israelites to quit and return back from to safety.

I think one of the hardest things to deal with is the discouragement we receive from family and our close friends. You’re trying to live out your faith in obedience and the people who have a lot of influence over you are trying to pull you away. The pressure is immense because they’re the ones who’ve poured into you, invested in your life and supported you. Sometimes it’s out of a genuine concern but in reality it is a discouragement from being obedient to God. Just imagine being put in a position where you’re confronted by your family & your only response is that you need to be obedient to God. In other words you’re put in a spot where there’s no other explanation or reason to their questions except that you want to be obedient to God. How hard is that? I know of many cases where family was their breaking point in obedience to God.

And this is how they responded to the enormity of the problem, the threat of the enemy and the discouragement from family and friends:So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.

Nehemiah reminds them of who God is! He tells them to recall and bring to mind who God is and what He has done for them. We end up having a skewed understanding about the character of God due to our sin. That was the impact of the fall when Adam and Eve sinned. They questioned and doubted the goodness of God and thought he was withholding something good from them by telling them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Similarly, all of our unbelief stems from a wrong understanding of God. So what can change that? God’s character and promises! We need to be frequently reminded because we’re professional forgetters.

You may think you can’t have victory over your sin, you probably feel weighed down by the enormous task of the mission, or the helplessness with respect to seeing that broken relationship restored…God is great and awesome! He’s bigger than your situation. “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jer 32:27)You might be facing severe threats from enemies who don’t want you to be obeying God. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Ps 18:2)

And the same goes with the discouragement that comes from family. When the people closest to us seem distant, the reminder is that “Our God will never leave us, nor forsake us”.

Lastly, I find it interesting that Nehemiah said “and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes”. There was prayer, there was a reminder of God’s character and promises but let’s not forget that there was also a fight! Active involvement of the Israelites was required.And that’s one of the key things about the Christian life. It is a partnership with God. More specifically, it is a responsive partnership! There is a responsibility on our part but it is always responsive! That’s how God designed it to be. For eg: God commands us to do something and as responsive partners we obey. In fact it was this partnership that was majorly affected in the Fall. Man no longer wanted to be in a partnership with God. He wanted to be independent of God thus bringing the wrath of God upon himself. But God is so loving that He sent His one and only Son to die in our place to satisfy the wrath of God. God saves us by sending Jesus to die on the cross and in response we put our trust in Jesus. God reveals His glory and in response we worship! Even in the challenges that were mentioned today: struggle with sin, broken relationships, weight of the mission, tough circumstances that you’re facing, threats of the enemy and the

And that’s one of the key things about the Christian life. It is a partnership with God. More specifically, it is a responsive partnership! There is a responsibility on our part but it is always responsive! That’s how God designed it to be. For eg: God commands us to do something and as responsive partners we obey. In fact it was this partnership that was majorly affected in the Fall. Man no longer wanted to be in a partnership with God. He wanted to be independent of God thus bringing the wrath of God upon himself. But God is so loving that He sent His one and only Son to die in our place to satisfy the wrath of God. God saves us by sending Jesus to die on the cross and in response we put our trust in Jesus. God reveals His glory and in response we worship! Even in the challenges that were mentioned today: struggle with sin, broken relationships, weight of the mission, tough circumstances that you’re facing, threats of the enemy and the discouragement from family and friends…know that even at this point God wants you to be actively involved. You are still a responsive partner. There is a fight!

You’ll need to fight for your faith. Fight for your purity. Fight to seek restoration in relationships. Fight to continue being missional. Fight to not quit while facing threats. Fight to honor God even when your family pressurizes you.

I’m not advocating a self-effort Christianity but also neither do I want to swing to the other extreme and use the grace and power of God as an excuse to exempt us from actively “working out our salvation”. God empowers us to obedience, a process in which we’re actively involved as responsive partners.Where specifically in your life is God asking you to be a responsive partner today? What do you need to fight for today?

Where specifically in your life is God asking you to be a responsive partner today? What do you need to fight for today?Let our study on the priority of prayer and the meaning of being in a Promise filled Responsive partnership with God change the way we respond to God this week.

Let our study on the priority of prayer and the meaning of being in a Promise filled Responsive partnership with God change the way we respond to God this week.

Tags nehemiah

Articles

The Gathering Vision

Because we are loved, we love and serve Christ in Community through Commission for His glory

Because we are loved:

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)

What is love?

The biblical definition of love is something we find difficult to grasp because every other expression of love we see in the world is selfish and corrupted. The bible always defines love as committed, costly and sacrificial.

John 15:13: Greater love has no one than this that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Why does the verse say that we haven’t loved God? How can you say that? I’m a loving person and I think I would love God!

To get an accurate picture of ourselves we need to look at the Bible. And the Bible is pretty descriptive about our condition.

Rom 5:8: but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Rom 5:10: For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by his death, much more, now that we are reconciled shall we be saved through his life.

It says that we were enemies of God by nature and by our actions. Enemies hate each other. Living in constant rebellion even though we’ve been created and sustained by God. Instead of finding our pleasure, joy and identity in God our Creator…we’ve found it in cheap substitutes. The god we worship is not the One true God but created beings and created things which are not worthy of worship and pleasure. So we find pleasure, purpose, security and identity in our jobs, family, friends, money, technology, entertainment, sensual pleasures and the biggest idol we worship is ourselves. We fail to see how we’re truly bound and worshippers of these idols. The worst part is that we don’t even know that we’re enemies of God. Eg: child and Father.

Now let’s answer the question: Do we really love God?

Because God is Holy and Just. He can’t simply overlook and pardon the sins of people. If He’s a Righteous Judge, he’ll need to punish people for their sins. And the Bible says that “The wages of sin is death”. Eternally we are separated and destined to face God’s wrath because we were enemies of God.

And so this is love….

Even though we were enemies of God deserving nothing else but the righteous judgment of God, God sent His one and only Son – Jesus to rescue us. And this rescue act happened not in great pomp but by dying a horrible death on the cross for your sins and mine. 2000 years ago God executed His righteous judgment on sinners by nailing the sins on the cross. Jesus died for you so that the title of being an “enemy of God” could be removed from you forever and so that you could now find your joy, identity, purpose and security in God and not in the things of the world as we once did!

Was it committed? Yes, he endured a painful, agonizing death on the cross to save us from the wrath of God.

Was it costly? Yes, it cost him his life and dignity….just imagine the Creator of the world dying as a criminal. But because his righteous death was accepted by God, He was raised from the dead three days later demonstrating that we could also experience life with God when we put our trust and faith in Jesus.
Was it sacrificial? Yes, tremendously sacrificial. He died for his enemies….people who don’t deserve such a sacrifice and a gift. But he did it out of love.

Therefore, this committed, costly, sacrificial love of Christ forms the basis and the reason for everything that we do.

We love and serve Christ:

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Matt 22:37)

Q. What does it mean to love the Lord with all our heart? What does it mean to love the Lord with all our soul? What does it mean to love the Lord with all our mind?

Again this love is a committed, costly, sacrificial love that we are talking about here. And the word Lord is important because it means “we belong to Christ, He owns us, He is our Master, He is supreme in authority and He decides what’s right and wrong in my life”.

Looking at this verse is there any aspect of your life which shouldn’t be surrendered to God? Nothing! All our heart, all our soul and all our mind! The good news about Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins drives us to respond in whole hearted surrender.

And this is what we as humans struggle with. We are okay with people as long as we don’t need to submit to them. Nobody tells us what to do. Nobody tells us what’s right or wrong about my life! And it’s to that….that God says: “Love the Lord……..”

And often people like the idea of a loving God who would do so much for us. But they stumble and stutter at the demand of surrender. Especially what’s being asked out here: whole hearted surrender! What we fail to understand is what was done for us. If we truly knew and understood the depth of the sacrifice of Christ, we would have no other option but to explode in praise, gratitude and self-surrender!

A person who truly sees his sins being nailed on the cross will respond by placing his affections, will and mind completely on the foot of the cross.

Q. Why does God want us that kind of commitment and surrender? Why not half hearted surrender?

Because God is glorified when His people live completely surrendered lives to Him. That kind of obedience, commitment and surrender to God tell about His value. Inevitably what we’re proclaiming through our “surrender” is that God is so valuable, so treasured, so important, so honoured that He deserves my utmost devotion and surrender. And half-hearted devotion won’t communicate that. Half-hearted devotion belittles His glory and diminishes His value. It’s not right and worthy of our King and Lord!

Secondly, we need to understand that whole hearted surrender is for our good. We were created by God for His glory. When we love God with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind….we will be satisfied! Nothing else and nobody else in the world can give you that satisfaction. Your Creator knows what’s best for you and what will give you the most joy. Whole hearted surrender displays God’s glory and gives you immense pleasure because you’re fulfilling the purpose of your life.

When you hear the words…surrender, devotion, whole hearted commitment, does that ring true of your relationship with Christ? Also, another thing that I believe is critical out here is our loyalty to Scripture.

You can’t love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind apart from Scripture.

The way you treat Scripture in your life often speaks about your devotion. Why? Because God speaks through His Word. And then your obedience to God’s Word speaks a lot about your commitment. In other words, you want to know what your surrender and devotion is like? Look closely at your attitude towards studying and obeying Scripture.

In Community:

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Heb 10:24, 25)

Another key aspect of our faith is that it is lived out in the context of community. John Piper says “Eternal security is a community project”. What he’s trying to say is that you cannot live your Christian life apart from Christian community. One of the biggest heresies of this age is the heresy of having Jesus as your “personal Savior”. Now let me clarify what I mean by that. I’m not talking about personal faith in Jesus. There needs to be personal faith applied in salvation. Your parents’ faith or friend’s faith cannot save you. You need to personally trust in the finished work of Jesus. Secondly, I affirm that Christ relates with each and every one of us personally and intimately…that’s the joy of the Christian life. However, the heresy that I’m talking about is a personal salvation that’s isolated from other believers where they aren’t involved and they don’t speak into your life and neither do you do the same for them.

And the gospel does address this issue. The gospel in fact fuels our love for our brothers and sisters because it has lifted off the focus from ourselves and cause to think, love and care for others.

I love this verse from Hebrews because it talks about a kind of an intentional thinking and observation about our brothers and sisters…why? Not simply but because we want to encourage them. In fact the word “stir up or spur” actually in the Greek means to trigger, kindle and fan into flame one another to what? Love and good deeds.

When was the last time that was the thought process or reason for coming to a GC? When was the last time that was the mentality you had before you came to a Sunday morning Gathering?

When was the last time you met up with a believer with the intention of fanning into flame his love for Christ and his love for his brothers and sisters? Doesn’t this passage cause you to reflect on your life in the same way?

And that’s why we meet in GC’s each week. Gospel Community allows you to open your life to other believers and have them walk with you as you live out your faith.

And it’s a command….do not neglect to meet together as some are in the habit of doing but strengthen each other and all the more as the Day of the Lord approaches. And it’s a serious question to ask ourselves. What kind of priority do we place on community life? By that I mean the intentional thinking, meeting and acting to encourage your brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Through Commission:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Pet 2:9)

It’s just interesting how this verse is framed. It doesn’t start out by stating the task or the mission but by mentioning a description of the identity. The identity defines the action.

Believers are chosen, favourite, picked out ones by God. Have you ever wondered what it must be to be chosen by God? All of us get excited when we’re picked out for a certain privileged task in our college or workplace. Just imagine being chosen by God. It goes on to say that we’ve got kingly responsibilities! We are chosen by the King of Kings to be His representative on earth! Wow.

A multitude selected to be set apart and consecrated for a very important task. We are a people who have been chosen to be His property! This identity, task and privilege should blow our minds. The reason for that is the next half of the verse which says “that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

We’ve been chosen to declare the excellencies of God who called us out of ignorance, ungodliness and idolatry leading to hell into the pure, extraordinary presence of God! What a transformation!

What a great privilege! What a wonderful God!

What would it mean for you to look at your co-workers, neighbours, and people of the city and be God’s representative to them declaring His excellencies and telling them of how he called you out of darkness into his marvellous light?

We weren’t supposed to have this privilege. We didn’t deserve it. We deserved hell but God in His mercy though Christ saved us and now appoints us to be His chosen representatives to a lost and dying world! Feel the weight of that grand purpose! Doesn’t every other purpose pale in comparison to this? What other purpose are you living for? Remember this has to do with your identity. If you see yourself as an employee, you’ll do your best to please your boss. But if you see yourself as a rescued and appointed priest of God….what will your job description look like? What will your lifestyle look like? What will your conversations with people look like?

For His glory:

What is the end purpose of all this? Why do we love and serve Christ? Why do we immerse ourselves and serve each other in community? Why do we passionately seek the lost with the gospel?

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Rom 11:36)

His glory! For Him alone.
It’s from Him (Because we are loved)
And through Him (we love and serve Christ in Community through Commission)
And it’s to Him (For His glory)

It’s not for the Gathering, it’s not for some personal accomplishment of ours…but the end goal is the glory of God. Seeing Him be magnified because we know that He initiated it, He sustains it and He accomplishes it! How does that speak to our hearts that struggle with self-centredness? Let’s evaluate…when we think about all that we spoke today: loving and serving Christ, in community, through Commission, what’s your biggest motivation for doing all this? If we’ve had any other motivation, what would it mean for us to repent of that sin and trust in His purpose of doing everything for His and only His glory!

Sermon

Our Response to Opposition in serving the Unstoppable God.

Post author By Jinson Thomas
Post date May 1, 2016
No Comments on Our Response to Opposition in serving the Unstoppable God.

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Nehemiah-Jinson2.mp3″]

One of the most challenging issues to deal with as Christians is responding to opposition. How do we respond to people who ridicule us and oppose us for doing what God has called us to do? In the midst of that how do you initiate or continue doing something that God has called you to do?

Wouldn’t you agree? The question seems simple but all of us agree that it isn’t so simple. So we’ll attempt to answer this question and some others as we look into the text today.

(Read Nehemiah chapter 2)

It’s been a joy reading through Nehemiah, right? I’ve seen how Nehemiah’s prayer life and devotion to God has impacted my own prayer life. It’s an amazing story of how God restores the hearts of the people to Himself. The physical condition of the wall pointed to the spiritual condition of the hearts of the people. It was in ruins! And God chose a man disconnected from the people and from the situation in Jerusalem to come and lead the people out of misery. When you think about it, it’s astonishing how God operates. He doesn’t nominate and select the people we think are the best fit but God selects people who are willing to humbly submit to His leading. Nehemiah, cup-bearer to the king was chosen by the King of Kings for a much greater calling…redeeming God’s people!

Let’s jump into the text.

1. The unstoppable might of God’s plan

v8 And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

v9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

In V8, Nehemiah makes a statement saying that God’s hand was upon him and therefore the king responded to his requests favorably. V9 is now a description of that favor.

Nehemiah doesn’t land up in his home town all alone. He arrives with an entourage! Who all are there in his company? Officers of the army and horsemen. This shows the authority that backed this decision to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Not only did he have letters for the governors of the province but he was also accompanied by the officials of the palace to add credibility to the whole order. It’s pretty clear that this was a work of God. It wasn’t Nehemiah’s convincing ability or friendship to the king that made this possible. God worked in the heart of the king to not only show favor but also fully support the initiative. How Sovereign and awesome is our God?

On the other hand in v10 we also see the tension and the opposition that Nehemiah faces. Sanballat was a governor of the Samaria region and Tobiah was probably his secretary. It says that it “displeased them greatly”. The Hebrew words for that actually describe it as a strong emotion that actually makes a person tremble or shake with rapid motion. Just shows how angry they were by this decision. Now why would they have a problem with “someone who came to seek the welfare of the people of Israel”?
These men concluded that the elevation of Jerusalem virtually meant the depression of Samaria; that, indirectly, Nehemiah had come to lower the dignity if not to lessen the prosperity of their state, and they counted him an enemy.

That’s how dangerous envy and jealously can be. It’s not just a trivial feeling that can be overlooked. It will result in disastrous end.

James 3:16 says “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

These two characters will be mentioned a lot in the course of this book as they try various deceptive means to thwart this whole plan. The truth is they weren’t fighting against Nehemiah, they were fighting against God Himself. And that’s a scary position to be in because if you’re fighting against God, there’s only going to be one victor! God.

Shouldn’t that encourage you and I today? God’s plan is glorious and unstoppable! He is redeeming people and drawing people to Himself from every corner of the earth. Nobody or nothing can stop his plan. Why? Because God Himself is the one working in hearts and creating circumstances for people to respond to him. People who oppose this plan do not fight against man but against God! That should encourage us as we step out and share our faith every day. The question isn’t if God’s plan will work or not….God’s plan is unstoppable! The question is “are you on God’s side today”?

2. The significance of Waiting before Acting

V11: So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose….

It seems like a short statement but it’s loaded with implications for our faith. Nehemiah got the approval, letters and even officials from the Persian King. What would you and I do if we were in his shoes? We would go to Jerusalem…convene a meeting with all the elders. Tell them that we need to start building and just do it, right?
I find it intriguing that Nehemiah goes to Jerusalem and waits there for 3 days. What do you think he did in those 3 days? He prayed. Even though it’s not explicitly mentioned in the text, but I think it’s quite possible that he spent those 3 days praying and asking God to act.

I think that’s the case because:

1) In chapter 1 when Hanani comes to him and shares the sad state of affairs of his people and the city, he responds with prayer and fasting for months.

2) In chapter 2, just before he makes a request to the king, he prays and asks God for help.

So there’s every reason to think that this might have been the purpose of the wait in Jerusalem before he went ahead and did something.

And it’s got huge implications for us today. The reason why waiting on the Lord and praying is tough for many of us is not just because we are impatient. I think it’s because we struggle to believe that it’s God who actually acts and works through us! We want to hold on to every ounce of control so that in the end if it works out, we’d be able to take the credit/glory for making an active contribution.

Let’s try and apply it to our own lives:

1. How much of waiting on the Lord in prayer goes into the important decisions of your life? Where to live? Where to move to? Which job to take? Which school to go to? Whom to marry? What kind of lifestyle to have?

2. When you think about reaching the city and planning strategies, are you really asking the Lord for direction and guidance or are you trying to work things out with your own intellect and ability?

I’m not saying that having a plan is wrong. It’s important and in fact as you even see in Nehemiah’s story…he had a plan. He knew what he wanted even before he made a request to the king. In v12-16, we learnt that he inspected the walls, formulated a plan and then spoke to the people of Judah. It’s good to have a plan but what I’m saying here is often we make decisions and plans expecting God to bless it but neglecting the need to seek God before we make those decisions and plans. And sometimes we make our plans sound so Christianized and spiritual, but we need to ask ourselves: is God really in all of this?

Proverbs 16:1-3 offers us some help:

The plans of the heart belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the Lord weighs the spirit.
Commit your work to the Lord,
and your plans will be established.

Jesus being the Son of God would often retire to quiet places to meditate. Obviously he had plans and knew exactly what he was doing on the earth. But still he understood the significance of waiting before acting. How does that speak to our hearts today?

3. The faithful response while facing opposition

Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim[a] in Jerusalem.” [ V17-20]

We see Sanballat, Tobiah come into the picture once again. This time along with an Arab named Geshem. What they did this time is accuse Nehemiah of rebelling against the king. Defying the king’s orders. What they’re probably referring to is Ezra 4 when the Persian King commanded the Jews to stop rebuilding the walls. This time however, as we’ve seen Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem with the blessing of the king.
What I find interesting is that Nehemiah doesn’t respond to their taunts by showing them the king’s letter or retaliating with more insults, he responds by a declaration of trust in what God would do. And that’s remarkable. He realized that this whole plan and mission wasn’t his own agenda. It wasn’t his own random decision to come to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall. God awakened his heart to the situation in Jerusalem, God gave him favour in the sight of the king…all he did was respond in obedience. Even in v12, he makes that very clear.
And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem.

Therefore, he knew that it would be God who would also finish and complete the whole rebuilding task. “God initiates, God sustains and God completes what He plans to do”: A clear understanding and faith in the person and plan of God enabled Nehemiah to respond in that way.

Often the reason why we react in retaliation or frustration to insults is because we fail to believe in the character and promises of God. Because we don’t believe in some aspect of the character and promises of God, we want to take matters into our own hands and we retaliate.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Rom 12:17-20)

What this means is that our God is just and that He will bring about judgment on those who act wickedly towards us but let God be the one who judges. In this case, trusting in the Justice of God enables us to
not take revenge and show love and concern to our enemies.

The fact is that all of us deserved the wrath and judgment of God because of our sins. God is Holy and He tolerates no evil and no sin. We on the other hand are sinful not only in our actions but are sinful by nature. Therefore, by nature you and I are enemies of a Holy God. But God showed His great love and mercy on us by sending His one and only Son Jesus to die for your sins and mine. All your sins were paid for on the cross and God’s judgment was poured on Jesus instead of you and I. Christ showed grace when we didn’t deserve, so now we show grace even to our enemies.

How do you respond when faced with insults for your faith? How do you respond when people mock you and ridicule you for doing what God has called you to do?

As God calls us to be obedient to Him, as He draws us into more areas where we’ll need to trust Him, we’ll often face opposition. This is going to happen to us personally as we look to obey God’s call on our lives and even corporately as we seek to honor him together as a family. In both cases, we know that God’s plans are unstoppable: Nobody or nothing can stop Him. We’re called to wait on Him in prayer before we act so that we know that it’s God who acts and works through us. And this helps us respond graciously to our enemies as we trust in God’s character and His promises.

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Sermon

It’s Never Too Late to Turn Back to God

Post author By Jinson Thomas
Post date April 11, 2016
1 Comment on It’s Never Too Late to Turn Back to God

We just started a new series from the book of Nehemiah. To put it plainly this is an amazing story of a covenant making, promise keeping, loving and gracious God!

Last week we were reminded about three truths about God:

God’s promises are bigger than our circumstances: When your circumstances trouble you and overwhelm you, know that even in those moments God’s promises are as sure and firm as a solid rock! You can bank your life on the certain and sure promises of God.
God’s faithfulness is bigger than our rebellion: That’s the assurance for sinners like you and me. Our destiny lies in the hands of an unchanging God. 1 John 1:9 says…if you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive you from all your unrighteousness. Our forgiveness is based upon the faithfulness of an unchanging God.
The cycle of failing to keep God’s law is always broken by grace and provision of God: We all struggle to keep God’s law. We know that’s impossible for us in our flesh to obey God’s law perfectly as he demands. So God shows grace and provides a way through His Son by which that cycle can be broken. And that’s how He’s always operated right through history!!

And today we’ll be taking a closer look at the first four verses and look to apply those truths in our lives.

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” 4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. (Nehemiah1:1-4)

In the first verse we are introduced to this character called Nehemiah. And the setting is in the king’s palace because he was a cup-bearer to the king. It was an important position because it meant that he worked very closely with the King. That’s where Hanani, his brother and some other men from Judah come to meet him. And you see him inquire and question them about the Jews who survived the exile and the condition of Jerusalem.

Right away you understand that he’s concerned about his people. Even though he’s in a culture and a lifestyle that’s distant from the Israelites, he still retains his identity which is why he would want to know how things were back home. Another way of putting the question: these are the people of God…my people…how are they doing?

However, the fact that he would actually ask it showed that he was disconnected from what was taking place in Jerusalem. This was their answer:

And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” V3

What are they referring to? In 2 Kings 25 it tells us how Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house and the great houses of Jerusalem and the army broke down the walls around Jerusalem. And all of Judah were taken captive and brought out as prisoners of war!

By the time we reach the book of Ezra, we see that the people have returned back to Jerusalem and Judah and start the rebuilding process. Some of the enemy leaders of the province wrote a formal letter of complaint to the Persian King requesting him to stop the work that is taking place. They made it seem like something wicked was being plotted by the Israelites as they were rebuilding the walls. The King listens to them and writes back telling them to stop the work until another decree made by the King approves of that. The rebuilding work stopped soon after it began and the work was made to halt for another 15 years.

As a result, Jerusalem and the people are left open and defenseless against their enemies because they don’t have a city wall. So it’s not just for decorative purposes that they needed a city wall. It was absolutely necessary for protection! A lack of a city wall clearly brought trouble and shame to the Israelites as described by Hanani and the other men.

And this is how Nehemiah responds to the news. As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. (v4)

He understood the plight of his people. He began to feel the weight of the trouble and the shame that his people were going through. This was his wake up call! One thing we can infer from this text is that Nehemiah probably was going through a season of comfortability. He was working in the palace, he had a dignified position and a place in society, was man of influence. How do we know if he was being too comfortable and needed a wakeup call?

Look at his response…v6 and 7. He’s confessing the sins of his people and his own sins. How did that happen? He realized that what was happening to the remnant was not because of anything else but because they forsook God. The parallel of the city walls with the condition of the Israelites hearts is very evident. When the city walls were broken and torn down, it was also a reflection of the spiritual decline that had taken place. They were spiritually in ruins!
The brokenness of the people exposed and made him aware of his spiritual need for God. Immediately you see him turn to God in repentance. He got his wake up call!

Let’s just pause and think for a moment.

When you look at the moral and spiritual condition of the people around you…your family, your neighbors, your colleagues, your college friends and the 23 million people in the city, does it break your heart and move you to weep for them? Does it prompt you to pray for them because you realize they’ve forsaken God? When was the last time you wept and prayed for someone?

What would it take for us to be awakened to the reality of spiritual decline all around us?

It is a convicting question when we take a closer look at our comfortability and apathy. It is convicting to realize that we need to be awakened from our state of slumber. We need to be reminded that there is hope in the grace and provision of God!

Firstly, I want us to be encouraged by this truth. It’s never too late to turn back to God.

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster. (Joel 2:12-13)

“Yet even now”…It wasn’t too late for Nehemiah and it isn’t too late for us! All of us realize that we’re not where we should be. Our burden and brokenness for our own sins and the lost in the world is not where it should be. We struggle with the same issue of comfortability and apathy just as Nehemiah did. However, let’s be encouraged by the fact that it’s not too late and God wants us to repent.

Secondly, his timing is perfect.

One would think that the people’s disobedience and Nehemiah’s apathy could ruin God’s plan but it’s not the case. God is still in firm control of everything as He has planned. He will redeem His people as He has ordained. After this prayer of repentance we see how Nehemiah’s position as a cupbearer to the King was carefully used by God to accomplish His purposes. Does that encourage you to know that even though we fail and mess up, everything is still on time on God’s watch?

Thirdly, God uses our failures for His glory.

God gave Nehemiah such fervor for God’s glory and concern for people that now Nehemiah is the man whom God uses to restore the people back to God!!! Who would’ve expected a person who is a public servant, disconnected from His people to be the leader appointed to complete the task of restoring the city walls and likewise the people’s hearts to God? And that’s the encouragement. If you feel today like you’ve failed in your service toward God, know that God can still use you as a powerful vehicle to display His glory if you repent and turn to Him. The reason for that is He is God! He delights in the humble submission of His people: People who seem to be ordinary and unworthy and failures by worldly standards but used in extraordinary ways for His glory.

What God calls us to is repentance and humble dependence on Him. Being transformed and used for the purposes of God is purely His doing. That’s a common pattern that you see in the Bible. People encounter a Holy God, their sin is revealed, they respond in repentance and humble dependence and it’s God who then commissions them. Let’s look at one of those passages in the Bible:

Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Again in v7 see a provision made from God to remove our sin and guilt. That could only be removed by a sacrifice on our behalf. We need to remember that our repentance is only made effectual by the death of Jesus on the cross. Apart from Jesus, there is no forgiveness, no cleansing and no service that will be acceptable to God. Jesus died in our place, purchased our freedom and now sends us to go and proclaim His glory!

And how do we respond to him? In humble dependence! Many times it’s our own sin that prevents us from seeing the brokenness around us. Let’s turn to the Lord in repentance – repenting of our sin, comfortability and apathy. Let’s ask God to break our hearts for the lost around us so that it moves us to weep and pray for them. All he requires from us is humble dependence on Him!

Related Sermons from the Nehemiah series:

Nehemiah – A Covenant Making, Promise Keeping, Loving and Gracious God (04.04.2016)
Nehemiah: A Patient, Heart-felt, Long-suffering Prayer (17.04.2016)

Tags nehemiah

Sermon

What’s so special about Easter?

Post author By Jinson Thomas
Post date March 27, 2016
1 Comment on What’s so special about Easter?

Textual Passage: 1 Corinthians 15:12-22

Let’s start with these questions: What are some things that come to your mind when you think about Easter? What are some traditions that are associated with Easter? What is so special about Easter?

As you talk to different people, you get different explanations. Here are a few:

1. Easter eggs for children!

2. It’s a time of celebration: so it’s all about the food! You’ll find that a lot in traditional churches where they’ve observed “lent” for more than a month. They’ve abstained from eating meat so far and so people lose total control of their appetites on Easter!

3. Most people would say…it’s a Christian festival to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. If you go to a Catholic or a traditional church and ask people what the meaning of Easter is, they’ll tell you that Jesus died on Good Friday and rose again on Easter Sunday. And even though that’s factually true, I don’t think they really understand or believe that it really took place. They’ll say it in a way as though it was a legend that was passed down over the ages. The main focus is the festival!

And I think that’s where the original context of this Resurrection Day event matters. Just imagine if all of us existed in Jesus’ day. We noticed him during his earthly ministry, witnessed the great and wonderful miracles he performed: healing the sick, driving out the demons.

We heard his message: Repent and believe in me for the kingdom of God is near! We observed his life: impeccable! Nobody could point a finger at him because he was sinless. He lived a perfect life! And then people falsely accuse him and put him on a cross and crucify Him. After his death, he is buried in a tomb and all that hysteria surrounding him is silenced! So they thought…but in three days he is raised from death and comes back to life! Do you think they celebrated a festival for his resurrection?

No, there was restored joy and hope for all who believed in Him and fear upon those who rejected him. Why? Because if Jesus conquered death, then everything He said about Himself is true and so is the judgment that will come upon those who rejected him! That’s the impact that the resurrection has. It’s not a festival or a feast but an encounter with the risen Lord!

Therefore, Jesus’ resurrection has major and huge implications for our lives today! We’ll attempt to glaze through a few of them in today’s passage: 1 Cor 15:12-22

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope[a] in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

When you read 1 Corinthians, you realize that this church has a lot of problems. Paul writes this letter to correct these problems. It was a church struggling with division, immorality, idolatry and theological confusion. One of the facts that some of the Corinthians was denying were believers being raised from the dead.

Why would some Corinthians deny the resurrection of the dead? It’s not just because they were confused or ignorant. Rather, a denial of the resurrection would mean hopelessness with regards to the future and also an unaccountable life which gives them the license to do whatever they wanted to do!

V32-34 says “If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals.” Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right and do not go sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

If there’s nothing to look forward to after we die, then that leaves us with no reason to live a holy life. Therefore, these Corinthians were using this as an excuse to justify their promiscuous lives.

And the way Paul puts it: he says it’s a BIG issue! You can’t allow this to slip under the rocks. It’ll ruin the entire foundation of our faith.

We’ll try and understand this by first looking at the resurrection event and then its effect!

1. Event of the Resurrection

v12, 13: Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

The argument being, if there is no resurrection of the dead, then even Christ has not been raised! And if Christ is raised, then there is a resurrection of the dead!

So let’s answer this question first: Did Christ really rise from the dead? If this question is answered then every other question is laid to rest.

A. The Empty Tomb: Jesus was publicly executed in the most torturous manner and then placed in a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jewish Council. 3 days later a few women claimed that the tomb was empty! This is publicly verifiable! As we all know, Jesus had a hostile opposition. They could have easily squashed the news that Jesus rose from the dead by producing a body which they certainly tried to do. But they couldn’t…the tomb was empty and the body was nowhere to be found.

B. Jesus’ Post-Resurrection Appearances: One thing we need to remember is that the Bible is also a historical book which lists events in history as they were.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. (1 Cor 15:3-7)

This letter was written within 20 years of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Paul explicitly states the number of people who saw Jesus after his resurrection and also provides names of people “who were still alive”. If anyone wanted to cross-check and cross-examine these witnesses they could do it and confirm if Jesus truly rose from the dead or not.

These are two of the many reasons for believing that the resurrection of Jesus actually took place. These facts and witnesses that can be examined to verify the accuracy of the events and authenticity of the claims!

2. Effect of the Resurrection

So Jesus’ resurrection is Real and Accurate! How does that impact us is probably the question on your minds? It has everything to do with us.

In other words, the resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our faith!

a. Christ’s resurrection settles our debts once and for all

V17: And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

We know that the main reason why Jesus came into the world was not to be a moral teacher or a miracle worker. He came to die and give his life as a ransom for many (Mk 10:45) Jesus lived a perfect life completely in obedience to God. He lived the perfect life that we could never live. His death on the cross wasn’t because he deserved it…he died as a substitute for our sins. All our sins were placed on Him and he paid the penalty of us all. His resurrection was God’s stamp of approval on the sacrifice. God completely accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf and it means that

ALL of our sins are totally paid for!

Rom 4:25: He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

How awesome is that! One sacrifice of Jesus now makes us right before God!

b. Christ’s resurrection seals our resurrection!

V20-22: But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

Not only are we presently in right terms with God but even our eternity is secured by His resurrection!
What’s the biggest fear in the hearts of men? It’s the same fear for the richest person in the world and the poorest person in the world. No matter how successful you are, you still won’t have an answer to the problem of “Death”. Even if you take all of the health precautions, that still doesn’t guarantee a long, never ending life. Everyone fears death!

But here’s the amazing truth for everyone who believes and trusts in Jesus for their salvation, know that your earthly death won’t be an end in itself! That’s why Paul uses the term “fallen asleep” and not dead. Just like Jesus was raised from the dead, everyone who trusts in Jesus as their Lord will be raised to life! The greatest enemy and fear was conquered by Jesus! Jesus reduced the impact of death to nothing with His victory over the grave. Death is no longer a consequence for believers in Christ!

You might wonder how does that take place. How can Christ’s life, sacrifice and resurrection be closely tied to mine? How does Christ’s resurrection impact my resurrection?

The reason is because believers are united to Christ in a very special way. Union with Christ is a very key theme in the Bible. It’s the same reason why Christ’s death for sins has been shared by us. It’s the same reason why the righteousness of Christ has been attributed to us. It’s the same reason why the close fellowship with God also been gifted to us. Similarly, our union with Christ also insures us of a resurrected body just like his!

Eg: How a married couple can share the financial benefits of their union with each other….

That’s how important and significant Christ’s resurrection is for us!! Let’s look at the application:

i. It empowers us to be focused on the mission:

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. V58

After a long discussion on resurrection, Paul exhorts the believers to be steadfast in the work of the Lord. It is because Christ was raised from the dead, and we too shall be raised from the dead, that we should continue unswervingly in the Lord’s work. Everything we do to bring people into the kingdom and build them up will have eternal significance, because we shall all be raised on the day when Christ returns and we will all live with him forever.

This is point that needs to be driven home! Christians living with the knowledge of the resurrection can’t be living for themselves! They can’t be living without a purpose. Christ and His mission are constantly on the forefront! Just imagine being like Jesus and with Jesus forever…1 John 3:2. We know how the story is going to end. We know what Christ is doing in the city of Mumbai and all over the earth and we know what He calls us to participate in! Every other ambition or purpose pales in comparison to the joy of serving God in building His kingdom. Maybe Christ’s mission not been the single focus of your life so far. In the light of the resurrection, would you surrender yourself to be steadfast in the work of the Lord?

ii. It demands us to stop yielding to sin in our lives:

Rom 6:11-13: In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

When you evaluate your life, in which areas do you find yourself yielding to sin? Where is God asking you today to kill the sin in your life? What would it mean for you to offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness?

Tags easter, jesus

Sermon

What’s Your Excuse?

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/whats-your-excuse.mp3″]

Scriptures: Luke 9:57-62
Preached by: Jinson Thomas.
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Following Jesus doesn’t promise a comfortable life. Comfort gives a false sense of security, a lack of eternal purpose and a lack of devotion.

In this audio you will learn about three men who gave different excuses when Jesus asked them to follow Him and how they missed the opportunity to respond in Faith.

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1. God zealously desires His worship

2. God lovingly pursues His people

1. The unstoppable might of God’s plan

2. The significance of Waiting before Acting

3. The faithful response while facing opposition