Author: Jinson Thomas

Categories
Good Friday Luke Sermon

What makes Good Friday good for us? – Luke 23:32-49

https://www.facebook.com/thegatheringcommunity/videos/541409313182647/

Good evening everyone!

My name is Jinson Thomas and I am one of the pastors at the Gathering Community Church. I’m humbled at the opportunity to share God’s Word with you all on this Good Friday.

One of the questions that many people including Christians are quite perplexed with is the question

“Why is it called Good Friday?”

How can it possibly be good if Jesus was murdered on this day? “It’s not good but bad Friday” some would say.

On top of that, some of you would say – how can this be Good Friday with all that is happening around the globe due to COVID-19?

How can it be Good Friday when I’m locked up at home? So this evening I’d like to give us 3 reasons for why Good Friday can be good for us!!

1. God’s forgiveness is available for all sins (v34)

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

What is astonishing is that Jesus is pleading before the Father for people who were responsible for putting Him on a cross!! And I think sometimes we are so used to seeing a cross on a church building or sporting it as a fashion accessory, that we forget what it meant in Jesus’ time to be crucified.

The cross wasn’t used to symbolize a religion or a fashion statement but instead, the cross symbolized condemnation and humiliation! It was a death row for the worst criminals who committed the most heinous crimes in the Roman world.

It was also done publicly to make an example of the criminal so that no one would even think of following the footsteps of the one who was killed. In fact it was so cruel and inhumane that even Roman speakers of the time would criticize it by calling it “the most cruel and disgusting punishment”.

The Son of God (Jesus) who committed no sin faced the horror of “the most cruel and disgusting punishment”.

Forgiveness isn’t cheap. It comes at a high cost.

Just to give you a picture of the pain that Jesus endured:

i) It involved immense Physical Pain: The pain was so unbearable, intense and agonizing that they made a word to describe it – “excruciating”. It wasn’t instant death but slow & painful death!

Victims would have to endure extreme pain for long periods of time before they eventually suffocated and died. We can never downplay or minimize the physical pain that Jesus experienced on the cross.

ii) Not only did it involve Physical pain but also Psychological Pain: That’s the last thing that you would want to face while already dealing with the immense physical pain.

The only voice that Jesus heard all around him were insults from the very people He came to save. V34 says that they cast lots to divide his garments which tells us how his garments were stripped off him making him vulnerable & adding to his humiliation.

iii) However, more than the Physical & Psychological Pain – what affected Jesus the most was the Spiritual Pain: AlthoughJesus was like us in every way, yet He was unlike us because he was without sin.

He was the only person to live a life of perfect purity and sinlessness. But on the cross for the first time, he experienced the massive weight & guilt of sin. “He who knew no sin became sin for us (2 Cor 5:21)”.

Not only did He experience the massive weight of sin but He was also being punished for our sins. No one like to be a scape goat for anyone and here we see Jesus becoming the scape goat for the entire world.

The passage from Isaiah that we just read earlier today is a reminder of the same thing:

Isa 53:5,6 – But he was pierced for our transgressions;

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the punishment that brought us peace,

    and with his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

    we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

    the iniquity of us all.

I want us to understand that Jesus wasn’t treated as a criminal merely due to wicked Jewish leaders and Roman soldiers of that time. He was treated as a criminal because you and I have committed numerous crimes against the One True God.

We are the very ones responsible for putting Jesus on the cross. Brothers and sisters, my intention is not to guilt us or over-emphasize on the gory details of Jesus’ agony and suffering but I want us to realize this truth that

Forgiveness isn’t cheap. It comes at a high cost.

God absolutely has the authority to forgive sins but because He is also a just judge, a payment has to be made. Someone has to pay.

I came across a beautiful story that spoke about forgiveness and justice being displayed in the courtrooms in UAE a few months back. An Asian couple found themselves in the middle of a huge legal problem because they overstayed their visa for a number of years.

They were asked to pay an enormous amount as a fine (around 12 Lakh rupees). When the judge asked them to pay the fine, they weren’t able to pay it. Now even though the judge had compassion on the family, he couldn’t write off the fine because it would cause an uproar and protest against the whole justice system of the UAE.

For some reason, the judge asked them the name of their son. The parents replied that they’ve named him “Zayed”. Now Zayed also happened to be the name of the founder of the country. On learning this, the judge said Zayed shouldn’t have to pay the fine. But justice requires someone to pay. To everyone’s amazement the judge himself paid off the entire amount (12 Lakh rupees) to close their case.  Forgiveness isn’t cheap. It comes at a high cost.   

When God saw that we weren’t able to pay the enormous mountain of a debt due to our sins, He provided a way for us to be forgiven through the perfect sacrifice of His Son Jesus so that the payment is made for people who cannot pay for themselves.

Maybe some of us as we are hearing this are finding it hard to believe. You’ll say “brother, I know what you’re saying but you have no idea what I’ve said and done in the past few weeks. You have no idea how ugly my past is. I’ve done so many things that I’m ashamed to even talk about”.

The amazing truth is that because of what Jesus Christ has done on the cross, if you come to Him and surrender yourself to Him because of His perfect sacrifice, forgiveness is available for all your sins no matter how many they are & how worse they are.

That’s amazing news for us even in a time of lockdown and uncertainty – to know that irrespective of what happens tomorrow that God can forgive all my sins. He can look at me and say “You are not guilty”. That’s great news.

But not only is Good Friday good because God’s is able to forgive all my sins but also that :

2. God’s grace is extended to the lost, the last and the least (v43)

And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Within the event of Jesus suffering on the cross, there is a mention of a small incident of two criminals who are hung on either side of Jesus. One of them dishonours Jesus just like the crowd beneath, but the other one honours Jesus as King.

The first one doesn’t even acknowledge his sin while the other one confesses his sin – he acknowledges “we are receiving the due reward of our deeds”. The first one didn’t have any hope of being saved, while the other one even at the last moments of his life trusted that Jesus could save Him.

And Jesus does save him in v43 – “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Wait a minute! First of all, this is a guilty criminal out here. He’s done some really bad things and messed up his life. Upon his own admission, he knows that he deserves the punishment he is receiving.

And plus he lived his whole life in wickedness and now at the final moments of life, he is asking Jesus to save him? I mean there are the other “not so bad” people that need to be saved first, right? This guy is the least likeable guy. He is the back-bencher in morality.

No one expects him to be saved. Why fill up God’s kingdom with people who don’t appear to be cut out for it? Why should Jesus even bother?

In our judgmental hearts, this is a crazy thing to digest mainly because we don’t understand God’s passion for those that are the lost, the last and the least. In Luke 15, Jesus talks about the parable of the Lost Son.

God is pictured as the loving Father who when he sees his lost son returning from a distance, runs and embraces him who wasted all of his father’s inheritance on his selfish pleasures.

Time and time again throughout Scripture we are told of this storyline – it’s not the powerful, the rich, the super talented, the influential that God choses and saves. It’s none of those but the total opposite.

Why? Because people who understand their sickness and infection are the ones who will go to a doctor and ask for help. People who understand their weakness and brokenness in sin are the one who will turn to Jesus desperately for help.

Sometimes people who have known me for just a few years presume that I’ve been a religious, pious, nice guy all my life. But the truth is quite far from that. In my teenage years I remember thinking that God & religion wasn’t something I was cut out for mainly due my increasing sin patterns. Even when I did go to church, I went for all the wrong reasons.

I was that guy sitting at the last bench because I didn’t think I was worthy of sitting right in front. For a person like me who had continuous evil thoughts running through my mind, I had mouth filled with cuss words and lifestyle of being an enemy of God, I knew I couldn’t reach God so I stopped trying.

I was so lost in my sin that I thought I was beyond help. But I thank God that He didn’t give up on me but rather pulled me out a deep pit through Jesus’s sacrifice. The amazing truth is that Jesus came looking for me even when I wasn’t thinking about being found.

I was lost, the last and the least among those that people expected to be saved and yet that happened by God’s grace.

And so I share my story to let you know that if you feel like you’re far away from God, if you don’t see yourself as a typical religious churchgoer, maybe you look at yourself and think you’re the last person that God would think of…let me encourage you to know that Jesus is nearer to you than you think. The scope of God’s grace isn’t limited to people who are at a certain level of good. God’s grace extends to those that are lost, the last ones and the least ones.   

But not only is God’s forgiveness available for all, not only is God’s grace extended to the lost, the last and least but also

3. God’s presence is accessible by all who believe (v44-46)

It was now about the sixth hour,[d] and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.

Jesus’ commitment to complete His work on the cross has ensured that we now have full access to God as our Father. And this was highlighted by the curtain or the veil of the temple tearing in two.

The curtain in the temple separated the Most Holy Place from every other place in the temple. The Most Holy Place is where God would dwell in. No one was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place except for the High Priest and that also once a year on the Day of Atonement.

On the Day of Atonement he couldn’t enter it in any manner he wanted. He needed to wear special priestly garments, offer a sacrifice for his own sins and then burn an incense to cover the whole room – and only then would his life be spared! That’s a big deal! God’s presence is a serious thing.

By ourselves if we went into the presence of God, we would be totally consumed. We would die. And now the amazing news is that Jesus has opened the way for us to freely and directly access God’s presence! It’s not limited to one day a year. It’s not limited to only the High Priest.

It’s not limited to going to a single location. God can reveal His presence to us no matter where we are.

Even in a season like COVID-19 where we are locked up at home & quarantined– the amazing truth for believers in Jesus is that we can experience God’s presence in a very scriptural and personal way.

I was encouraged by the interview of a woman who recently recovered from COVID-19 where she testified to being all alone in a hospital room.

Even the medical professionals had kept their distance to avoid receiving the infection. In a room which no one could enter, Jesus was there with her. While she was reading Scripture on her bed, in a very personal way Jesus reminded her of His presence – “Never will I leave you.

Never will I forsake you (Heb 13:5)”. Wait a minute! But I thought Jesus died and was buried? How can Jesus still be with her 2000 years later? If Jesus’ story ended with him being buried in a tomb, it wouldn’t give us any assurance of His everlasting presence.

Instead we know that Sunday is coming. Sunday is coming when Jesus would rise victoriously from the dead & that’s why He can make the most audacious promise to never leave us nor forsake us and still keep it!

Brothers and sisters, let me encourage you to know that Jesus Christ can be present with you right now through His Spirit. Jesus Christ cannot be locked up. No lockdown can stop Jesus from meeting you in your loneliest of times.

Would you come to Him and cry out to Him today? 

That’s what makes this and every Good Friday good! Because of Jesus, God’s forgiveness is available for all sins (every bit of them), God’s grace is extended to the lost, the last and the least. God’s presence is accessible to all who believe.

Would you join me to respond to God in prayer?

Categories
1 Thessalonians Sermon

Our response during a Pandemic! : 1 Thessalonians 2:17 – 3:5

Good morning church! My name is Jinson Thomas and I’m one of the pastors at the Gathering Community Church.

We are going through a series titled “Abiding Faith” from the letter of 1 Thessalonians & I’m thankful to God for the opportunity to encourage you all through the Word this morning. The fear and uncertainty of Coronavirus has gripped the entire world & as a result many nations are being locked down to contain the spread of the virus.

In the midst of this lockdown situation where we are away from each other, what is God trying to tell us? Let’s turn to 1 Thess 2:17 – 3:5 because I believe there are some very relevant principles to address our situation and lives:

17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavoured the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face,

18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us.

19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?

20 For you are our glory and joy.

Chapter 3

1Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone,

2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker[a] in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith,

3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this.

4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.

5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.

Social Distancing –

It’s the most heavily used and to an extent the trendiest phrase within the last 2 months. This means maintaining physical distance or avoiding contact with people during an outbreak to minimize the exposure and transmission of an infection.

This poses a tension for God’s people because we realize that God has created us to be social beings! So, pastors and church leaders all over the world are praying through and figuring out what it means to be the church in a time when social distancing is a necessity.

At the same time the world and culture around us says things like “This is the one time for you to save the world by sitting at home and watching TV, don’t mess it up!” Is Netflix the solution for this season? Or does God intend something much deeper in purpose?

On the basis of today’s passage, I would argue that God’s intention during this time is to show His concern for us believers through the church & to show His concern for the world through the church.

After all, when we look at the situation and crisis when Paul wrote this letter, he wrote it to brand new believers who were probably just weeks or months old in the faith.

Paul and Silas barely spent a few weeks with them before they were driven out of the city due to severe persecution. That left these brand-new believers with their newfound faith, alone in a very hostile environment. You can imagine how pressurized they felt as new believers to undergo suffering each day.

And in the midst of this, God shows how concerned and present He is with them through the concern of believers like Paul, Silas and Timothy. But how can we develop that genuine concern for people? Does it happen merely by us making a list to contact 15 people everyday?

Planning is good but if it’s not fueled by genuine concern, it’ll not stick. If you’re at that place today where you desire true concern for the believers and unbelievers in your life, know that you’re not alone.

Like you I’m also figuring it out and I want to know how to do that biblically. So 4 Important Steps that we learn from this text:

1. We need to Understand that Identity precedes Concern

17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart (v17)

Right throughout this passage, we see a lot of familial language being used. Sometimes he refers to his relationship with the church like a parent is with the child. But sometimes he refers to them as “brothers”.

I think it’s important because he recognizes although they heard the gospel through Paul (he is their spiritual father) but yet just like them he is also “a sinner saved by grace” and “a child of God”. That is his first and primary identity.

Angela my wife and I have been reading a parenting book which spoke about this concept of identity. Many a times parents seek validation and acceptance from their children.

They derive their identity through the approval of their children. They spend 20-25 years of their lives trying to do that and then suddenly when the son or daughter leaves home for college or gets married, their world turns upside down & they lose their sense of purpose in life because God never designed them to find their identity in their children.

I think the same thing could be said about finding our identity in the church as well. If we’ve been looking for validation and acceptance from the believers in the church, then the moment something like this lockdown situation comes about, we feel this sense of losing our purpose in life & our faith seems weak and fragile.

And that’s when we resort to spending hours in entertainment, social media and many other sinful indulgences as an escape route.

And the hard truth is that whenever we find our identity in the believers instead of Christ, we don’t really end up loving them. Rather we see the believers in the church as a means to an end.

That’s primarily the main reason why we fail to show concern to our brothers and sisters in Christ. A lack of concern is primarily an identity issue NOT a feeling issue.

So I want to encourage you all this morning, if you’re at a place where you want to be concerned for people, it doesn’t start from you making a long list and a set of plans…it starts from you understanding your identity as a child of God first and not as a member of the Gathering.

It starts with understanding that you are loved and accepted infinitely through Christ Jesus. Only when your heart rests in that identity, will you be able to love & show concern to people not seeking to get anything back from them but with a genuine concern to care for them.

2. We need to Express our Concern

Another thing we notice in this passage, it is filled with affectionate language for the Thessalonian church. Paul says “You are in our hearts (v17)”, “We endeavoured the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face (v18)” & “You are our glory and joy (v20)”.

In our predominantly male-dominated Indian culture, it’s looked down upon if people especially men express their heart and feelings. What’s promoted is the alpha male, tough guy persona who has no emotions. And that also somehow translates within the church.

I understand that personality types can differ from person to person. Some people will be able to express themselves at length but others might find it hard to do. But I think it’s good and important for us as God’s church to be able to express our affections and concern for each other.

I’m not saying that we need to be sentimental and over-emotional but in a way that is natural to us, we should be able to verbally express our concern and affections because it communicates care especially when people are going through a very difficult time.

Look at the way our God expresses Himself in Jeremiah 31:3-4:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt”

And let me tell you my own experience has been that even the most rough and tough person (although they won’t show it) seeks and appreciates concern. During this season of COVID-19, the impact is such where even the spiritually mature would struggle with fear, uncertainty and loneliness.

Assured with your identity in Christ, I would encourage you especially in your conversations with your brothers and sisters, please don’t shy away from expressing your pure affection and concern for each other. They need to hear those words of concern being expressed.

3. We need to Respond to the Concern

Being assured of our identity in Christ, and having expressed our concern, we need to now do whatever is necessary according to our ability to help meet the need/concern.

2:18 – We see how that concern has driven them to make several attempts to go back to Thessalonica despite being kicked out of the city. because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us.

3:1-3 – Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker[a] in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions.

When there was no option left, Paul and Silas decided to stay back and instead send their beloved coworker Timothy to check on the believers and also encourage them in the faith. Paul didn’t say “I’m the main church planter and only I need to be the one to go back there.”

He didn’t say “Timothy is my dear Son in the faith, one of my best and most faithful disciples and a super encouraging dude so let me keep him with me for my personal edification”. No, when it reached that point where Paul couldn’t go back, he was willing to send his best resource and his best friend to encourage a suffering church who needed him the most at that time.

And we see how Paul’s concern was not just for their physical well-being. Yes, persecution was also real & physical at that time. But Paul’s deeper concern is how this persecution was going to affect their spiritual well-being.

Will they still continue to love, trust and obey Jesus or will they abandon Him? I really appreciate the calls that I was able to have with some brothers this week where they asked me about my spiritual walk. It just brought so much of refreshment to my soul.

One of the questions that I always appreciate being asked is “how is your heart?” Not that always my heart is doing great but I think it somehow is able to sift through my intellectual faith and dig deep into my heart.

And I really believe true believers in Christ want to be asked those questions, they want to be challenged with those questions even in seasons when things aren’t going great spiritually.

In those in whom the Spirit dwells, there is a deep unrest with their spiritual life and they are waiting for a Christian brother or sister to challenge them and also point them back to Christ. I want to encourage you all even though this is a season of social distancing, please make use of technology to respond to the concern for your brothers and sisters.

And remember that our desire is not in just making sure that the brother or sister is doing physically well during this pandemic, but that their heart is still responding to Christ. That is true Christian response of concern.

4. Impact of concern

There is an impact that this concern generates. I find it interesting that in spite of the encouragement & concern that was expressed and shown to them with the sending of Timothy, Paul doesn’t tell them that the suffering will go away.

Rather in chapter 3:3 he says: For you yourselves know that we are destined for this.

I think sometimes many of us do have a romanticized view of the Christian life. We don’t believe in prosperity theology of health and wealth – we know that’s wrong, unbiblical and harmful to the church of God. But yet in practice we don’t see suffering or anticipate suffering as essential to being a follower of Christ.

Think about it – if God was only about health, wealth and prosperity, then it means that He is absent and distant from me in times when I’m going through suffering, pain and poverty.

Instead in the Bible we see our God who understands our suffering, is present in our time of suffering, very near us during our moments of suffering and moreover uses suffering as a tool to redeem people from every tongue, tribe and nation to Himself.

We see this clearly displayed in the suffering of Christ on the cross through which we are redeemed and set free from our slavery to sin to live for Him eternally. And if God can redeem sinners like us through the suffering of His Son, then He can most certainly also use COVID-19 as a tool to redeem people to Himself.

I want to end with a true story of a doctor treating COVID-19 patients in Italy – the new epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic which is recording almost 1000 deaths every day.

“Never in my darkest nightmares did I imagine that I would’ve seen and lived through what has been happening here in the hospital for the last three weeks. Right now we are no longer doctors but mere sorters who decide who should live and who should die.

Up until 2 weeks ago, my colleagues and I were atheists; this was normal because we are doctors and we have learned that science proves that God doesn’t exist. I always laughed at my parents when they went to church.

9 days ago, a 75-year-old pastor came to us with respiratory problems. He had a bible with him and it impressed us that he was reading the Bible to the people who were dying and holding their hands. We were all tired and discouraged doctors – physically and psychologically spent and so we found that we were listening to him.

We realized that we have reached our limits of what man can do. We need God, and we have begun to ask for his help, when we have a few moments free. We cannot believe that we who were once fierce atheists are now seeking for interior peace by asking the Lord to help us resist so that we can take care of the sick. Yesterday the pastor died.

Despite the fact that in the last 3 weeks we have had over 120 people die in our unit and we are all exhausted and feel destroyed, he succeeded, despite his own condition and our own difficulties to bring us PEACE that we no longer hoped to find.”

A COVID-19 infected 75-year-old pastor was able to bring peace through the gospel to atheist doctors. One thing I can say is that the people I’ve been speaking to over the last couple of weeks are genuinely open to God at this juncture. They are all looking for PEACE.

We know the PRINCE OF PEACE!

So to close let it not be Netflix, television or anything else that defines how we respond to this time of lockdown. Being assured in our identity in Christ, expressing & responding to the concern to our brothers and sisters, can we now look outside of our churches to impact the city with this story of PEACE?

God has divinely ordained the church to show His concern for the people within and also the people outside the church.

Categories
1 Thessalonians Sermon

Faith Unpacked: 1 Thessalonians 1:1

Good morning church! I’m humbled & it’s a great pleasure for me to have the opportunity to preach the Word this morning. We just completed a topical series last week titled “The church”. And we get back to our book study as we begin 1 Thessalonians.

I think this is a continuation on the topic of “the church” because it talks about the “abiding” or the “continuing faith” of the church.  

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace. (v1)

“Christianity is at risk”! This was the title of a news report in a UK newspaper Daily Express in 2019. They saw a dramatic decline in the number of people that call themselves as Christians in Great Britain. From 66% in 1983 to 38% in 2019. And this is a similar declining trend that is seen all over Europe where thousands of churches have been closing due to lack of attendees (Wikipedia).

Even in a country like the US that has been the source of a lot of good resources and writings, they’ve seen 10-15% churches shut down. People are turning to atheism or modern spiritualism where they take what they like from each religion to create their own version of a religion that suits them. And in the face of these real facts, I’m sure the question that the church asks is: Is faith in Jesus temporary like a trend or can there be genuine, abiding faith? Will my faith last till the end? Not just me – but will the faith of my brothers and sisters in Christ abide and survive till the end?  The theme of the letter to the Thessalonians is like an answer given to us to help us navigate and find help to these critical questions.

3 points of observations:

1) Christian faith is validated by perseverance

When Paul starts out mentioning “the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” & as he continues throughout the letter – he actually remembers the context in which the church was formed.

In Acts 17, Paul arrives in the cosmopolitan, business capital city of Thessalonica (similar to a city like Mumbai). And he arrives to Thessalonica after being beaten & imprisoned in Philippi. One would think that Paul, Silas and Timothy would’ve been intimidated by that previous experience but they were instead fearless because they immediately go to a Jewish synagogue (sort of like a gospel community or a small group) over 3 Sabbath days & they have open discussions with the people gathered out there on what the Scriptures tell about the necessity for the Messiah to suffer & rise from the dead.

Paul tells them that Jesus whom He proclaims is the Christ! Some Jews believed, a lot of Greek worshippers believed & many prominent women also believed!

Isn’t this is awesome? To have new believers in this amazing, fast paced, influential city. They were at the tipping point of a vibrant church expansion movement. But unexpectedly even before Paul could make the most of this new discipling opportunity, some of the unbelieving Jews who were jealous got together some people who were experienced in stirring up riots and a crowd and started attacking the house of Jason (probably the church met at his house).

They couldn’t find Paul and his companions so they dragged Jason and some of the new believers in front of the city authorities & accused them of being international troublemakers & more severely saying there is another King called Jesus apart from Caesar!

The only way in which they released Jason and the others was with a money security – to guarantee that Paul wouldn’t cause any more disruptions by continuing to preach in that city. That same night Paul and his companions were sent away from the city. All of this all tells us that the Thessalonian church wasn’t born out of a marketing strategy or a pastor’s big vision. This church was born in the midst of humiliation, pain and suffering!

The fact that they were standing in the midst of severe suffering showed that their faith was genuine! I find that a stark contrast to how we evaluate the genuineness of our faith. We say our faith is genuine because we know all the worship songs at church, we are fairly regular at church, and also we have a good relationship with the pastor and other church members – so we assume that’s what certifies our faith.

Instead the bible tells us that “Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness”. (James 1:1)

Losing our job, sudden loss of a family member or a loved one, a broken relationship, an unexpected illness, long wait on God to answer a prayer for a good thing like a spouse for marriage or a job, taunts and insults being hurled at you because you’ve chosen to follow Jesus – these are all very real and painful.

But at the same time suffering exposes our heart idols. Those idols of inconvenience, comfort, self-love, self-reliance, pride, anger, impatience suddenly come to the fore when we are met with unexpected suffering. And it’s not as though someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus will not undergo suffering. But here’s the difference – Genuine Christian faith will be displayed through repentance & faith in God.

Even though there might be seasons when believers doubt, are confused and might even look to sin for comfort but true believers will eventually come back to God in repentance and faith. Why? Because they can’t abandon the Lord who gave them a new heart to love Him. They can’t abandon the Lord who has placed His Spirit within them. They will indeed return back to him.

Maybe some of us have been frustrated or discouraged by the season of suffering that you’re going through. If you’re in that place today, could you ask God to reveal those areas in your heart that need repentance & faith in God? Could you ask God to use your current situation to display His mercy? Genuine Christian faith is validated by perseverance.

2) Christian faith is personal & yet inter-connected

Our Christian faith is personal in the sense where God has a unique and direct relationship with every person who believes in Jesus. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12)

But at the same time Christian discipleship happens in community – with other brothers and sisters. Throughout the whole letter it’s filled with language that mentions the presence & necessity for deep relationships within the church.

You became imitators of us and the Lord (1 Thes 1:6)

But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. (1 Thes 2:7-8)

I remember a time during my first-year in college when this truth hit home for me. Now I had been a believer for about 2 years or so but Christian life for me was just Sunday. I was the most spiritual and most committed on a Sunday but the rest of the week I lived a double life – isolated from the rest of the church & world and joyless.

I assumed that was what Christian life was for most people. About that time, I was introduced to a brother who came to India on a two-week trip during his college break to share the good news about Jesus. I accompanied him throughout those two weeks, watching his life closely, paying attention to his words and I was amazed to see the joy & purpose with which he lived his life.

In every conversation I saw him have, he would somehow bring every conversation back to Jesus because it looked like he truly loved Jesus. For him time with the Word wasn’t a duty or a Sunday activity, he enjoyed reading the Bible and telling people about what he learnt. Plus, I was amazed to see a young college student come to India on a trip to tell people about Jesus during his summer break when he could’ve spent it with his friends.

Just imagine what this did to a young believer like me. This brother didn’t sit down and preach “discipleship” to me – but I saw him live it out during those 2 weeks. God used that brother to rejuvenate my relationship with God.

And I really want to challenge you brothers and sisters today. Maybe just like my experience, you see yourself as a Sunday Christian and desire to change. Let me encourage you to find a brother or sister in the Lord whom you know is living for Jesus & just go and spend time with them.

Observe how they are loving Jesus and allow them to speak into the insecurities & fears & doubts of your heart. That is God’s design for us to experience full joy. Christian faith is personal & yet inter-connected.

3)  Christian faith is based on God’s faithfulness

As we are reading through chapter 4 & 5 in 1 Thessalonians, if we read it without any context, we might be mistaken to think that it is simply a bunch of rules: abstain from sexual immorality, help the weak, admonish the idle, pray without ceasing.

We may assume that Paul is telling us that “Jesus has done half the work of saving you, now it’s up to you to perform and make sure that Christ receives you as perfect in the end”. Although we may say that we theologically don’t agree with that but practically we might believe it’s true.

What I mean is this – there is a reason why we feel super happy and assured on days when we read our bibles early in the morning, are able to have a productive day at work, manage to minimize our sinful behaviors & even share the gospel with one person.

At the same time, we struggle with immense guilt and condemnation on days when we aren’t able to do any of the above. On those days we don’t “feel” like God’s child. We instead “feel” like we are orphans.

If we are absolutely honest, all of us will confess that even on our best days – even our best efforts aren’t good enough before a Holy and Perfect God. There’s nothing we can do to make ourselves a loved child or an accepted child of God. So then what does that mean? Can our faith survive with this kind of failed record?

1 Thessalonians is a reminder for our hearts that when we fail – and fail we will, God still remains faithful. Even when we feel like we’ve let go, God continues to hold on those whom He has chosen. Think about it – Paul and his companions thought they lost these new believers.

They were anxious and thought that these believers may have gone astray in the midst of severe suffering and persecution. Instead when Timothy meets them, he is overjoyed to find them loving Jesus no matter what it may cost them. How come? The Lord Jesus remains faithful. He doesn’t let go.

No one can snatch them out of my hand – says Jesus in John 10:28

At the end of the letter in chapter 5 – Paul says some remarkable things – read with me in v23, 24:  Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Who sanctifies or makes us Holy? God does. Who will keep us – people who fail and sin blameless? He will. Because He who calls me is “FAITHFUL”. He will surely do it. Does this cause us to be lazy in our faith? No, in fact it makes us zealous to serve him because of His faithfulness.

For some of us who are feeling like they’re orphans this morning in spite of believing in Jesus, I believe we should be reminded that our faith, our identity, us being the child of God is not based on our performance.

It is based on God’s faithfulness – His faithful Son who lived a perfect life and died the death that we deserved so that through His resurrection our faith is firmly anchored in His faithfulness. For some others, it’s probably the first time where God has opened your eyes to His faithfulness.

Till now you’ve been living a life against God, apart from Him but today God’s moving your heart to trust Him. And God is true to His Word – if you believe in what Jesus has done for you, you will be saved. He will surely do it according to His promise.

Categories
1 Peter Sermon The Church

Leaders of the church – 1 Peter 5:1-3

Good morning church! Right now we are going through an exciting series titled “The Church”. A couple of weeks back we understood that the church isn’t a building or an event we go to but it is the redeemed children of God. Last week we learnt that the church has an amazing purpose – to glorify God by preaching the message of His grace! This week we’ll try to understand a little bit about the leaders / pastors / elders (NT uses these words interchangeably) that God has appointed to lead the church.

But before we get into the passage, I want to start by asking a few questions. In today’s day and age, is it relevant to have pastors in the church and our lives? If we have the Bible and the Holy Spirit in us to lead us, do we really need a pastor? Or is it like every team needs a captain & every organization a manager, is that why we require a pastor? Do we really need another person to tell us what we should or should not do?

Let’s look to the Bible to understand God’s purpose in appointing pastors.

1 Peter 5:1-5

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,[a] not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;[b] not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility towards one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

3 observations on pastors from this passage:

1) Being a pastor is a role and not a title

shepherd the flock of God that is among you (v2)

The word pastor actually means “shepherd”. What if we called the pastors we knew as “Shepherd so and so” instead of pastor? Suddenly is sounds less prominent and sort of funny. It’s a role and not a title. For many of us – the word “shepherd” although we know the meaning but the visuals aren’t familiar because there aren’t too many shepherds around us. But in that time and culture in ancient Israel, they knew exactly what Peter meant when he said “shepherd”. They knew that the shepherd’s duty was to keep the flock intact, protect it from predators and help the sheep find pasture to graze on.

Feed the sheep – In John 21 is a fascinating passage where Jesus basically asks Peter thrice if he loves Him. Peter responds “Yes” three times and after every response Jesus tells Peter to feed His sheep. In a sense Jesus was trying to tell Peter that he was to show his love for Jesus by feeding the church. With what? The word of God. The primary responsibility of the pastor is to preach, teach & guide the church with the Word of God. It’s not to entertain or plan programs but to preach and teach the Word of God because it’s the Word that will cause the sheep to love, trust and follow Jesus.

Protect the sheep – In Paul’s last meeting with the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, he tells to pay careful attention to the sheep of Christ because “fierce wolves” are going to come in to draw disciples after them. Who are these fierce wolves? False teachers & teachings that are going to creep into the church. And the pastor’s role is to protect the sheep from that. I think nowadays with the access that all of us have to the internet, it presents a different type of challenge because we can allow false teachings and teachers to influence us even without meeting them in person. I think one way we’ve tried to address that is by coming back to the gospel and reminding people of what’s true & beautiful & life-changing.

Care for the sheep

exercising oversight,[a] not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;[b] not for shameful gain, but eagerly; (v2)

The pastor cares for the church by watching over them willingly and eagerly. And that’s a challenging question because it deals the attitude of our hearts. If we don’t see any fruit in ministry, will we still serve the church willingly and eagerly? If we don’t see greater commitment and passion for Jesus from the members of the church, will we still continue to serve them willingly? And if the members don’t end up doing what we tell them to do instantly, will we still continue to serve them eagerly? If we don’t ever get anything from the church monetarily, will we still serve them willingly? Genuine care is displayed by willingness and not mere activity.

Model for the sheep

but being examples to the flock. (v3)

Pastors also called to model what trust & obedience looks like for the church. Their lifestyle matters. That’s why in all the passages that talk about qualifications for being a pastor – it always combines character qualities with competency. It’s not good enough to know theology but you have to live it out. In my previous church experiences, I noticed that some churches would automatically consider a person to be a pastor if he graduated from seminary even without paying attention to his life. This can be damaging for the church because instead of bringing people closer to God, a pastor whose life isn’t monitored or tested might take people away from God.

How do we apply this? Sometimes we end up placing pastors on a pedestal creating a divide between God’s expectation of godliness from them vs what He expects from a church member. And although God will hold the pastor accountable to the way he shepherded the flock, God’s expectation of intimacy with Jesus, purity, faith & love from pastors isn’t any different from the way He looks at us. Some of you might be called to pastoral ministry but some others might not be called to serve in the same way but yet God’s desire to see you mature & grow closer to Jesus is exactly the same.

2)  God calls broken people to pastor His sheep

Imperfect people – broken leaders! What? That’s crazy. I presumed that pastors were the best in the lot and that’s why they are chosen to be leaders. Not true. Look at v2 & 3. Peter addressing fellow pastors tells them to not serve out of compulsion, not do it for shameful gain & also not dominate or control people! He’s presuming that the leaders are going to struggle with these areas and they need a powerful reminder of what they’ve been called to.

Soul shepherding Institute sometime back compiled a list of alarming statistics regarding pastors in the US (unfortunately I didn’t have any Indian stats)

  • 77% feel they do not have a good marriage
  • 41% display anger problems in marriage as reported by the spouse
  • 38% are divorced or divorcing
  • 50% admit to using pornography
  • 37% report inappropriate sexual behavior with someone in the church

These are such sad figures. I’m sharing this not to justify any of the sins. It’s absolutely wrong & abusive to the flock of God. I can’t imagine the pain & hurt it has caused to the church members & families of these pastors. My intention in sharing this is to indicate that pastors are broken people in need of redemption. How do we comprehend this reality? For the members, I think it’s to recognize that your pastor cannot be your redeemer. If you are looking at your pastor to give you ultimate hope, satisfaction and peace – you will be end up being terribly disappointed at some stage because that’s something he is not capable of offering you. He himself needs to be redeemed. For the pastors, I think it’s important to acknowledge that we cannot be our own redeemer. Since we are used to advising & counselling people, we sometimes forget how sinful we truly are…more than we can admit or even imagine about ourselves.

3) Pastors are under-shepherds of Christ

4 And when the chief Shepherd appears (v4)

It’s a very crucial truth to realize because then that means pastors are accountable to Jesus Christ & it also means that no church belongs to an earthly pastor. The church solely belongs to Jesus Christ and pastors are “under-shepherds”. And I think in this lies the secret to redeeming the brokenness in the pastor & the church – Run toward the Chief Shepherd. Listen to what Jesus says in John 10

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. (John 10:11-13)

Imagine the same picture of a shepherd in ancient Israel. Jesus says that someone who is hired and doesn’t care about the sheep will run away as soon as trouble arrives for the sheep. When the weighty penalty of sin & it’s deadly consequences fiercely approached us, Jesus Christ our Good shepherd who owns us stood in the way and laid down His life to protect us! That’s the love & commitment of our Chief Shepherd. He doesn’t abandon us. He doesn’t leave us. He fights for us & lays down His life for us!

When pastors rest in this amazing assurance & when they learn how to pastor by mirroring the love and commitment of the Chief Shepherd, it’ll invariably transform the lives of the people in the church as well. Success in ministry isn’t determined by the flock that gathers around a pastor, but success in ministry is determined by the flock that gathers around the Chief Shepherd.

Pray for your pastors – pray for their intimacy with Christ & that they continue growing in repentance. And also, trust their leadership – not only when it comes to administration or initiatives but also when biblically they are challenging or correcting you so that your love & faith increases. (v5)

5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility towards one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Categories
Philippians Sermon

Finding Joy in Imperfection -Philippians 4:1-3

Good morning church! We’ll be continuing our series titled “Joy filled Life” from the letter to the Philippians.

It’s been great learning what “true joy” is as we’ve studied the passages together. And in today’s passage we find that the Philippian church is in the center of a conflict situation – it’s in fact one of the main reasons why Paul wrote this letter. There is so much to learn from the first three verses of chapter 4.   Without wasting much time let’s get into the passage:

Therefore, my brothers,[a] whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion,[b] help these women, who have labored[c] side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Living in Christian community seemed to be a piece of cake! That’s when I used to watch “church on TV” every Sunday morning. Without much instruction on the importance of church during my first few months as a new believer, I found myself “enjoying” church services from the comforts of my sofa.


In fact, I even thought I had options to chose the kind of church service that suited me – I just had to tune in at the select timing. But a few months later as I joined my first church as a believer – reality hit me – I realized not only was church a people that I was created to be part of but also filled with broken individuals including me.


And that brought a whole new set of questions in my mind. How should I respond when conflict is caused by my own sin?  What is my response supposed to be when I’m caught in the middle of other people’s conflict? Let’s look at today’s passage to get the answers.

 1. We need to persevere in the gospel

Therefore, my brothers,[a] whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

I find it interesting that Paul doesn’t directly jump to what these individuals should or not do with respect to the conflict. But even before that he takes time to explain the gospel and then ask them to “stand firm” or “persevere in the gospel”.


Every time I think of the word “persevere” I think about a marathon – like a 42k marathon. The Christian life is not a 100m dash but is more like a marathon. It’s long-distance and requires great endurance. So what does it mean to persevere in the gospel?

From the previous chapter, we understand that perseverance is connected with “Knowing Jesus”. And I know that we generally use that term “knowing Jesus” quite frequently but what does knowing Him entail? Is it a feeling or a thought about Jesus? Is it merely the knowledge of Scripture? How do I know Jesus? Paul lists out the different ways by which we know Jesus:

  • We know Christ by placing our faith on Him– The most amazing truth of the Bible for us is that Christ died in our place as our substitute. On the cross, Jesus exchanged His pure white robe for our filthy rags. And then after rising from the dead, He declared that whoever would trust in His sacrifice & run to Him for safety would receive His white robe in exchange! That’s what faith in Christ means.    

  • We know Christ by obeying His Word- Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. (Phil 3:12). Because Christ is God and yet paid the highest ransom amount to save me, I’m not going to take my spiritual life lightly. I’m not doing it to gain favor from God but instead I’m obeying Christ to show my love for my Savior (John 14:15)

  • We know Christ by suffering with Him- Another way by which we get to know Christ intimately is by suffering for Him. If you are a true believer in Christ, then at some point you will be persecuted or mocked or insulted because of your holy life, your message and choices. When that happens to us, we get a glimpse of what it might have been for Christ to endure suffering & also have the opportunity reflect His love and forgiveness to those who oppose us.

  • We know Christ by being transformed into Him- 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Cor 15:19) Think about it – if all that was planned for us is to live on this earth for 60-70 years with no eternal consequence, then all what we’re doing is absolutely useless. Instead the Bible tells us that because God is God & faithful to His promise, we will be supernaturally transformed into Christ’s glorious, perfect body!

In the church today “knowing Christ” has unfortunately been reduced to just gaining biblical knowledge about Jesus or merely a feeling that you experience during a worship set.


As we look at this passage, we see that when the Bible speaks about knowing Jesus – it is meant to be deeply personal, active and transformative!!!


Knowing Jesus means becoming like Him! That’s the goal. If our knowledge isn’t making us look like Jesus, then something isn’t right about it.  That’s why it requires “perseverance”.

There was once a generous king who wanted to adopt a young boy from his country. All the bright and talented boys lined up for adoption but to everyone’s surprise, this king instead wanted to adopt a boy from the local prison!


When the king comes to the prison, he notices a boy who is battered, bruised and fully covered in dirt. The one whom no one wanted to sit beside was chosen to be the son of the King! The King brought the child home, bathed him, cleaned his wounds and gave him new clothes to wear.


The King later has a conversation with the boy & tells him that he is so glad to be his father and no one’s ever going to change that. But he also tells him that the boy will need to go to another place for a few years to undergo some training so that he understands what it means to be the son of a King.


His past life was so different from this new life and he needed to be trained. Right before the boy goes out for training, the king gives him a handwritten letter where he’s listed out all the things that he’s said to him so far with his own sign and seal.

Whenever the boy doubts or is tempted to leave the training, he can read the letter to be reminded that he is the son of the King and no longer a prisoner. He should wait for the King who will certainly come one day to bring him home!

Sometimes people ask “how much time should I read the Bible and pray”? I don’t think that’s the best question to ask. You my child. You’re not a prisoner anymore. Spending time with me through the Word and prayer is how you get to know my heart and my will for you.

Some other times people ask “Is it okay if I’m selective in my obedience?” The response would be – You’re my child. You’re not a prisoner anymore. You’ve been pulled out of prison to live a freely for me.

Someone else might ask “God is very important to me but above Him are my parents, my job and my relationship” You’re my child now. Remember how I rescued you from those things (sometime good things) that enslaved and imprisoned you. Don’t go back to that now. You’re mine.

Not only do we need to persevere in the gospel but also

2. We need to express the gospel (especially in the midst of conflict in church)

I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion,[b] help these women, who have labored[c] side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Euodia and Syntyche were women leaders in the Philippian church who also were actively involved in Paul’s ministry. We don’t know what caused the disagreement between the two of them but it seems like it was left unresolved and began to affect the church internally.


It could be that some people were thinking “How is it that these leaders are not able to resolve their differences?” Some others probably thought “this is what happens when we get ourselves in church ministry, things get quite messy. It’s better to stay out of it”.


And I think it brings us to this important truth – that there isn’t a perfect church – even a church as faithful as the church in Philippi had major disagreements among the more solid & active believers!

Even as I’ve been part of a few churches myself and visited others, I’ve witnessed how many people have been hurt by church and have considered leaving it. The reasons I feel are:

1. Church becomes an idol- We demand perfection from the church or the pastors and when they aren’t able to meet up to our expectations or our needs, we end up getting angry and frustrated. In one of my previous churches I remember telling a brother once how I felt let down by the church because they weren’t appreciating my efforts to present the gospel in creative ways. I only found opposition each time. And he told me something that stuck to my mind, he said “Whenever we make the church or people to be the ultimate thing, we will always be let down. Jinson, you need to look up to Christ who is the only perfect One and who is able to completely satisfy the longings of your heart”. So true – I was looking at the church to be my Savior and Satisfier.

There is a famous quote that says “Church isn’t a museum for saints but a hospital for broken sinners”.

2. Understanding that the church is still in need of grace:  Someone like me who is usually non-confrontational tries their best to avoid any kind of conflict. But what I end up forgetting is as those conflicts are being addressed through the gospel, it becomes the perfect place to display God’s grace.


I miss out on the grace lesson that God wants to teach me during those moments.  I don’t know if you’ve noticed but your biggest idols are revealed not when everything’s going great but when you’re in the midst of conflict. Selfishness, pride, insecurity – all of that gets revealed and so it’s a wonderful opportunity for the church to understand grace and repentance when it’s dealt with the gospel.

Which is why Paul in v3 asks the church (his true companion) to intervene and help reconcile these two sisters.Their role in this is not to GOSSIP about the situation but rather aid with the reconciliation process. Here are a few application points that come to mind:

i) We need to pray for the unity of the church (especially if we are aware of disagreements from within)– We shouldn’t assume that because the church has believers that conflict will hardly be there. It’s quite the contrary.

ii) We need to actively engage disagreeing parties- To reiterate the role of the church is not to be a silent spectator nor gossip, but find ways to make reconciliation possible.


And when the disagreeing parties are in front of you, what should you tell them? It’s not to take sides or talk about platitudes. What they need to hear is the gospel. That’s the only thing that can change their hearts and bring about genuine restoration.

iii) We need to trust the church to help us resolve our disagreements (be it in marriage, family, friends and church members)-  It might be the case for some of us that our first point of contact to help resolve conflicts are unbelievers but we all know that they’ll not be able to point your hearts to Jesus.


They’ll probably only be able to provide some sort of worldly compatibility advice. Instead what if you’re able to talk to few mature believers who can actually help you navigate through your issues by telling you about Jesus and His sacrifice? But for that, it calls us to be willing to open ourselves to our church speaking into our lives.


Sometime back a brother shared an experience of a bitter fight he got into with his brother during a GC. Things got so ugly that the elders had to put them in separate rooms temporarily and later brought them together and the members of the GC “gospeled” them through that process.


Now it was embarrassing for them at first but that day they had the privilege to practice grace and repentance before Christ and the church. Today that brother is one of the leaders at the church & he retells the story as a way to explain the beauty of the church in helping him reconcile with his brother.

I want to leave you with this final thought – Yes, it’s true that we are experiencing present conflict due to our sin and brokenness, but Christ will have the final word! In a very beautiful way Christ is stitching up His body that will one day be a bright, spotless bride! Don’t look at people, don’t look at a perfect church to satisfy you – look at Christ and His perfection! Know Him & Become Like Him!

Categories
Philippians Sermon

Joy-filled Concern – Philippians 2:19-24

Good morning church! We continue our exciting series titled “A Joy-filled life” as we go through the book of Philippians. Last week we learnt that as we joyfully obey God, we are called to fight the sin of grumbling and arguing. But after these instructions, we see Paul’s tender and the affectionate concern being listed in today’s passage in Philippians 2:19-24:

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s[d] proven worth, how as a son[e] with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

I couldn’t wrap my head around this. When I was a brand-new believer in the Lord, I started going to this youth group. I could remember the way I felt like a new believer! It was so comforting and enjoyable to fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ.

But a few months after that my priorities changed. And as much as I wanted to fellowship with other believers and study the Bible, I also wanted to also be part of the church choir and make great music with them. There happened a time when the timings for both meetings clashed and I had to make a choice and I chose the choir.

But one of the leaders from the youth group continued to follow up with me twice or sometimes thrice a week. And he used to come back from work late each night and would call me and speak to me for hours. Quite a few times I’ve managed to put him to sleep with my talk! I still didn’t understand why he would still call me even though I didn’t go to the youth group.

It was something strange and different for me as a new believer. For the first time, I experienced genuine concern for my faith and my life.  So a couple of questions I want us to think over as we start: Is genuine concern for your brothers and sisters important? What does it look like for you and me to genuinely have concern for each other?

1. We were created to have a CONCERN for each other

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you.

Why was Paul so concerned? Why did he need news from them to be cheered up? We realize even though the Philippian church loved Jesus and partnered with Paul in the spread of the gospel they were still going through a lot of issues. 

There was Internal Disunity – grumbling, arguing, pride, selfishness within the members of the church. If anyone’s still looking for a perfect church, just know that no church is going to be perfect until Christ returns! Just think what the Philippian church was going through. Not just that they were facing External Opposition – they were being persecuted by hostile unbelievers.

And Paul being their spiritual father is deeply concerned about them. These are my children whom I shared the gospel with. These are my children whom I nurtured. How are they doing? I can’t imagine what they are going through. Are they going to hold on to Christ after all this or are they going to crumble under the pressure and weight of sin & persecution?

It’s a beautiful passage where we see Paul intending to send Timothy to the church so that he can encourage and strengthen them in the Lord – so that they don’t lose faith – so that they don’t quit and abandon the Lord or the church. We see here a great design of what the church is. It’s not a building. It’s not an organization. It’s not an event. It is a FAMILY. It’s deep and committed. Not shallow and non-committal as the world sees relationships.

One of the biggest challenges to seeing our local church as a family is our APATHY! Apathy basically means “Who cares! I definitely don’t care”. Apathy ultimately finds its root in selfishness and pride. 

In our selfishness, we’ll say “Why should we be concerned about this person? Doesn’t have anything to do with me. Why should I simply add extra stress in my life by being concerned and burdened about someone else?”

In our pride, we say “This other person got themselves in a mess due to their own decision. If I were in their place, I would do it differently. No reason for me to unnecessarily get involved now”. 

I was convicted of my sin of apathy in this week only. And I had to realize that God’s design for us and our lives isn’t apathy. God design for us – is to show deep concern just like He is concerned. 

In Ezekiel 34 – is one of the places where we see the great concern God has for us. God prophesies through Ezekiel and is deeply concerned because the leaders of Judah haven’t taken care of His sheep. 

4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; 6 they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. (Ez 34:4-6)

Should we be apathetic when we know that our brother or sister is struggling with habitual sin? Should we be apathetic when we know that our brother or sister is struggling with finding their identity in Christ? 

Should we be apathetic when we know that our brother or sister struggling with fear of failure and rejection? No, our desire should be like that of our Father. Deep concern. 

I was really touched a few years back by a youth retreat that I had attended. It was conducted for students and I was a volunteer for the retreat. Now whenever I’ve gone for retreats, the main sessions were the main thing but out here I noticed that while the main sessions took place, a few leaders went aside to a room to pray.

I joined them on one of the mornings and was moved by what I saw. These leaders who have been ministering to these students for many months prayed with tears for each of the students individually. It didn’t feel planned or manipulative.

They were just expressing their concern for all the areas in which they wanted God to work in the lives of these students. Let’s pray and ask God to break the sin of apathy? Ask him to break our hearts for the things that break His own heart?

Not only are we created to have a burden for each other

2. We are called to sacrificially serve each other (v20-24)

20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s[d] proven worth, how as a son[e] with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

I find it so interesting that Paul chooses to send Timothy to encourage the Philippians. Why does Paul do that? Why doesn’t he send anyone else?

Son in ministry & Faithful coworker: In Acts 16 we see the first time Timothy is mentioned there. When Paul comes to Lystra, Derbe and Iconium in what was known as his 2nd missionary journey, the believers from there spoke well of a person called Timothy.

Paul takes this passionate young believer under his wing on his missionary journey. You can imagine what’s going through the mind of young Timothy. Not knowing exactly how God would provide and what lies ahead of them, in faith he travelled and ministered with Paul for 20 years.

Let’s not forget that Timothy was with Paul when the church at Philippi was being founded. The church has seen his faithfulness as a co-worker which is why Paul could say to the church “you’ve seen Timothy’s proven worth”. 

He didn’t just see the highs of ministry where people were getting saved and added to the church but he also saw suffering. Almost every city where they went, they were met with hostile opposition – beating, death threats and imprisonment. Despite all this, he stuck with Paul as a faithful, trusted son.

In Paul’s mind, this is the perfect guy who needs to go to the church in Philippi. This is my trusted son. My precious one. I have no one else like him. He is genuinely concerned for your welfare. So I am sending him to you. Does this sound familiar?

I think we can see the picture of the gospel at work here. When we were lost and scattered, when we rebelled against God, when we rejected him and went astray – Yet God didn’t turn the lights off on us – Instead He said I will send my trusted one. My precious Son.

I have no one else like Him. He is genuinely concerned for your welfare to the extent that He will lay down His life to save you!! 

Earlier we read about the concern of God in Ezekiel 34…see what it says in v11

11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.[a] I will feed them in justice.

Here is our God who just doesn’t have a concern in His heart and mind but also acts upon it. He comes after those who are lost and scattered. Even today if you think you are the lost sheep, just know that He pursues you still. He sent His Son to die for you.

He rose on the third day so that your relationship with God can be healed. You can turn back to Him and surrender your life totally today!

And that’s the main and only motivation to serve each other sacrificially. It’s because God did that to me – someone who didn’t deserve it at all. As God is building a heart of concern in you, He is also calling you to love and sacrifice what might be precious, costly to serve your brother or sister.

It might be our time, our convenience, our comfort, our resources but you will never know how over time God will use our faithfulness to strengthen a brother or sister’s faith.

Categories
Philippians Sermon

Joy-filled Obedience – Philippians 2:12-13

Good morning church! As we continue our series on a ‘Joy-filled Life’ from the book of Philippians, we will see today how the breathtaking view of Christ’s obedience to the Father which we read in last week’s passage now informs us to live in obedience every single day.  Let’s read from Philippians 2:12-13.

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

It was the most nervous Sunday School class for me! When I was probably in 3rd grade, I remember being part of a Sunday School class taken up by a lady from church who was close to my family.

Initially, it was exciting because she was a familiar face to me but then it turned into anxiety because midway through the class she told everyone “I know someone who has been very disobedient to his parents”. Immediately my joy turned to sorrow and I was sweating.

I didn’t want to be called out…that also in front of my friends. As she was going to announce who it was – my heartbeat started racing – and finally, she said that the person was her “son”. Phew! What a sigh of relief. Now the reason I got so stressed that day was because my greatest concern was that I didn’t want to be embarrassed before my friends.

Similarly, we sometimes view obedience as something to make us look good or bad before people. So we spend a lot of time trying to appear to be “obedient followers” in front of others. But what if we saw our obedience as something that our heavenly Father wanted from us? What if we recognized that God is deeply concerned about our obedience?

Our obedience matters to God! And it matters for our joy in Him too.

Three things about obedience from this passage that I think it’s important for us to know:

  1. Obedience involves total surrender (v12)
  2. Obedience is a response to God’s grace (v12)
  3. Obedience is a miracle of God (v13)

1. Obedience involves total surrender (v12)

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence

The word obedience is something that we’ve overused in our church culture and even at home. So we sometimes think of obedience as obeying rules and disobedience as not obeying rules. But the word “obedience” whenever it’s used in Scripture describes surrender and submission. I’m surrendering myself to heed to what this authority is commanding me to do. 

Paul was imprisoned far away from the church at Philippi while this letter was written. The church was having issues within themselves where members were getting into arguments while from the outside they were being persecuted. Paul – being their spiritual father in the faith, what does he tell them to do?

as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence

That’s why I used the word  “total surrender” because I think it captures the idea to be obedient not just when your spiritual family is around but also when they are absent. 

Each day there are many people who come to Mumbai from different cities far away from their homes and families. I can imagine the pressure of temptation that they feel because they’re tempted to think that since they are all alone, they can now let their guards down. They think they can do whatever they want and probably not get caught.

And it’s not just those who come from other cities but you can be living with your family in Mumbai itself but due to college or work schedules spend hours outside of the home. Maybe you get to meet your family only early morning or late evenings.

Even with the church you probably only get to meet them once or twice a week. For the remaining time you’re living by yourself. And I can understand the pressure of temptation that people face to do things in isolation – in secrecy – in private that no one knows about.

When I was new to believing in Jesus, one brother told me something that stuck to my mind. He said “Most of the time people live restricted and self-controlled lives because they’ve got family around or because they’re afraid of getting caught.

But the moment they go to another city or country for studies or college, that’s when they are really tested because they think that even if they compromise there’s no one who would know”. There’s a real danger to living in isolation. 

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. (Proverbs 18:1)

It can be relationships that we are in right now that our family or church has no idea about. It can be images and movies that we watch on a computer screen. Or it could be conversations and jokes that we have with our colleagues and college friends that we know are dishonouring God but we would never mention this before our family and friends. In our sinfulness, there is a tendency and an urge to keep a private, secret life.

Both me and Saju even though we are elders here – I wanted to tell you guys that there’s a need for us to fight this battle every single day. We are in no way taken off the hook. 

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13) 

I’m really thankful to God for a loving wife who shows me grace and applies the gospel daily & for brothers and sisters who encourage me to fight this every day.

One thing that has helped me grow as a believer has been this truth – for a believer in Christ, there isn’t a concept of private life. Why? Because all of our life – every single part of our life is owned by Christ. There’s no room for a secret stash. And this is something very important for us to consider.

If we want to really obey Christ, the question is – are we willing to fully surrender everything? Even our private life and that would mean bringing that to the light and sharing it with a trusted brother or sister who would urge you to repent and go back to the gospel. And let me tell you it’s freeing to confess and repent. We end up feeling enslaved and miserable when we conceal.

Not only is obedience total surrender

2. Obedience is a response to God’s grace (v12)

work out your own salvation with fear and trembling

The first question that came to my mind when I read this was – Is Paul talking about working for salvation? Is he telling that we should have good works to get saved? No, he’s not contradicting what he said in Ephesians 2:8,9

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

Rather, what Paul is saying here is that because you are saved…because you have experienced and received God’s grace through Jesus, you need to obey with seriousness and reverence. We are not working for salvation but we are working out of salvation. True obedience is an outflow…it’s a result…it’s a response to the grace of God. 

The Bible in Luke 7 has an interesting story of Jesus being invited to a house of a Pharisee. A woman from the city who was known for her sins heard this and brought an alabaster jar of ointment and came to the house. She stood behind him weeping and wet his feet with her tears and wiped it with hair and kissed the feet and anointed it with the ointment.

Now according to the culture of that day, it was improper for a woman to do this in a public setting. On top of that everyone seated out there knew this woman was a sinner. And Simon the Pharisee thought to himself – “If Jesus really was a prophet, he would’ve known what sort of woman this is who is touching him – she is a sinner”.

Jesus knew what he thought in his heart and told him this parable “a moneylender had two debtors – one who owed him 500 denarii and the other who owed him 50. When they could not repay the debt, he cancelled both of their debts.

Which of the two do you think will love the moneylender more?” Simon said, “I think it’ll be the one whose larger debt was cancelled”. Jesus said, “that’s correct”. “When I entered your home, you didn’t give me water for my feet but she wet it with her tears and wiped it with her hair.

You gave me no kiss but from the time I came, she’s not ceased kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, her sins even though they are many are forgiven – for she loved more. But he who is forgiven little loves little”.

The seriousness and obedience that we show toward God is often a reflection of how much we think we have been forgiven. If we think we had a massive debt over us and that was cancelled through the what Christ has done, then our obedience would be quite serious and radical! But if we think that our debt was small and minute, that would, in turn, be the love and obedience that we show to Christ.

But not only is obedience total surrender, not only is it a response to grace but 

3. Obedience is a miracle of God (v13)

for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Now, this is might be slightly confusing for us. In the last verse, this is telling us to “work out our salvation” – meaning we need to actively obey God because of grace. But in this verse, it’s telling us that it’s God who actually works in us!!

Wait a minute? Am I the one to obey? Yes. Is God working in me to make me obey? Yes. How does that work? 

During our honeymoon is when I learnt how to float for the first time. My wife being a good swimmer decided to help me out a little. So we found a shallow bed of water where we could practice how to float. She told me to lie flat on my back, lift my feet up and then I would float. But the moment I did that, I started sinking.

The next time I did that, I frantically started paddling with my hands and feet and still sank. This continued for almost half an hour and about the time when I almost decided to call it a day, she told me to calm down and allow the water to handle the weight of my body. She told me to lean back and calmly rest on the water body and before you know it – I started to float!!!

And similarly, I think when it comes to obedience –

  • God empowers us to obey. He gives us the TOOLS which will allow us to obey Him.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3)

  • When we obey – we are actually cooperating with Him – submitting to His final authority and acknowledging that He knows better than us
  • Then we actually see how God carries us forward, strengthening us to complete obedience. 

It’s like floating on water. Who is the one causing us to float? It’s actually the water. We are just cooperating with the buoyant force that is allowing me to float. Obedience is active, intentional, radical but as we are obeying God we’ll see how we are able to do it only because He empowers us to do the same. 

Sometimes we wonder why is it that we are not experiencing that kind of intimacy with God. We wonder why aren’t we experiencing the powerful presence of God as we ought to. And the question we need to ask ourselves is “have we been obedient to God?” 

Me and Glen were having this conversation yesterday. Imagine two scenarios. One where we live our lives for our own selfish goals and pleasures and maybe we do gain the riches and luxuries of the world.

The other scenario where we probably don’t gain the riches and luxuries and where everything doesn’t go our way but instead as we are obeying God and surrendering to His will we are experiencing His power and might in such an amazing way not just in our lives but also around us! I would choose this over the former any day. There is a thrill in obedience!

And God has given us a few TOOLS to help us live out a joyfully obedient life:

1. We are His children through Jesus Christ. Sin no longer defines us. Even though we sin, even though we mess up but we can go back to God and find restoration. If you are experiencing distance from God due to your private, secret life – I want you to know that you can turn to God in repentance. He is your Father who is waiting for you with open arms.

2. He has given you the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is not a weak spirit that is there within you. For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4 He is God and has brought God’s power and presence into your life. He will enable you to wage war with sin and struggles. We need to yield to Him in prayer and surrender. 

3. We have brothers and sisters to help us fight. If you’re a man,I would encourage you to find one or two brothers who love the Lord with whom you can share your “private life, secret stash” and have them hold you accountable. If you’re a woman, find one or two women who love the Lord who can hold you accountable. Brothers, I want to tell you and encourage you that there is immense power in the prayers of brothers and sisters that deeply care for your spiritual health. Spiritual battles have been won. Sin has been fought with. People have been redeemed when men and women have come together to seek divine help. He will definitely answer!! 

Categories
Philippians Sermon Unity

United in Joy – Philippians 2:1-4

Good morning church! How’s everyone doing a week after the retreat? I would say that the retreat was a blessing for all of us and what’s interesting is that today’s passage seems like a continuation on the topic of “Unity”.

It does seem like something that God is impressing on our hearts as a church. As we all turn to Philippians 2 in our series titled “A Joy filled life”, I want us to be reminded of what’s been happening at the church at Philippi.

A couple of weeks back we did learn about the persecutions that these believers were facing because of their faith in the Lord Jesus. But not only were things difficult for them with the world outside but internally things were not great between members of the church too.

Two women who apparently were co-laborers with Paul got into a disagreement and this was affecting the rest of the church. How should the church respond? Let’s read in v1-4

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

“You’ll never find a perfect church!” I remember this quoted being mentioned to me ever since I became a follower of Jesus. It didn’t take me too long to realize the reality of that quote but that presented a set of problematic questions: “How is the church ever going to be united with so many differences and disagreements?” “Should they overlook and ignore all the issues?” “Or should they pin-point and correct every single issue?” “Specifically, how am I as a follower of Jesus required to live in the midst of this?”

And knowing that we have married couples in our congregation and young people who are looking to get married sometime in the future, I want to extend these questions on unity to them as well – “How can I experience true unity in my married life?”

4 points of observation from today’s text:

1. Unity can only be brought about through the Gospel (v1,2)

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

What I find so interesting is how Paul starts this chapter – He starts by talking about amazing truths and gifts that are ours through Jesus Christ. 

  • Encouragement in Christ: Because Jesus Christ saved us and rescued us from the wrath of God, we are encouraged to approach the throne of God with boldness. We need not be afraid of the presence of God anymore.  
  • Comfort from love: For people who were once staring at hopelessness and eternal death, the amazing truth is that we have God who eternally comforts His people with love. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you”. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. (2 Thess 2:16,17)
  • Participation in the Spirit: God graciously pours out His Spirit on everyone who places their faith in Jesus Christ. All of us have the same Spirit who convicts us, changes us, works through us to make us more like Jesus! 
  • Affection and Sympathy: These are words that basically mean compassion and mercy being shown to someone. When God saw us in our sin and misery, He had compassion on us and came after us to pull us out of pit of sin and darkness. 

And his point is that – if we’ve truly experienced these amazing things, then it needs to be evident in our lives as well. 

Right now because we are expecting a child, we do have a lot of experienced parents who meet us and give us advice. A few weeks back someone shared with us that after the 20th week or so, the baby in the womb actually has a capacity to hear.

This parent advised us to be mindful of what we communicate during this period and also encouraged us to sing Christian songs and read verses that the baby will actually identify once out of the womb! And that process continues even as the child grows, what the child sees the parents do, that they’ll imitate and do. Wow! And I kept thinking – isn’t it that same with all of us spiritually as well.

God being our Father wants us to experience His grace, love, mercy and kindness and be filled in it so that we can extend it outwards to the people around us! 

Here’s what I think the application for this point is. If we think that more events or programs or combined activities is what is going to keep the church together or the marriage together, then that’s a very meaningless, faulty line of thinking.

There’s only one way for your marriage, your family, and the church to experience true unity and that’s going to happen when we understand and respond to God’s grace, love, mercy and kindness – the message of the gospel.

2. Unity doesn’t necessarily mean similarity (v2)

2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

My immediate thought when I read this verse was: Is he trying to say that all people should talk the same way, think the same way and walk the same way? I don’t think he’s saying we need to become similar people.

We are so wired in the world to group ourselves around similar people – people who think, talk and walk like us. People who are different from us are labeled as “awkward and weird”. When the world talks about unity – they are more or less talking about similarity.

But when the Bible talks about unity – it has to do more with the One gospel and Savior & how we now care for each other within the church. 

If you ask around the room today, you’ll hear many unique testimonies of how God saved each believer here. Some of us were saved when we realized the purposelessness of sinful addictions, some of us got saved while we heard the gospel being preached at a Christian meeting, some of us got saved when someone personally shared the gospel with us and my own story is that I got saved while reading a Christian book.

So many unique stories but one Savior Lord Jesus and when we heard the amazing love – that He would lay down His life on the cross and rise again on the third Day – our eyes opened and we turned from our sins and ran to Jesus to save us and our lives completely changed! And that’s what unites young, old, dark skinned, light skinned, tall, short, male, female alike. It’s not so much how similar we are but how united we are despite our differences. 

Sometimes in our churches or even in our marriages, we also bring in this baggage of trying to make the other person like us thinking that if we are more similar then we’ll be more united. Not true.

For example in churches there’s always an issue between the elderly and the youths. The elderly people accuse the youths of being free-spirited and naïve. Young people accuse the elderly of being rigid and over-disciplined. But the thing here is that both groups need each other.

The elderly need to be encouraged by the zeal of young people to still remain passionate and radical for the things of God. The young people need to have the guidance and wisdom of the elderly to be able to grow in maturity. We need to learn how to embrace each other’s differences – in terms of giftings, cultural backgrounds, lifestyles, language and see how we can actually learn from each other. 

As long as the gospel is our foundation and love is the motivation, the gospel allows us freedom to actually embrace each other’s differences and yet still be strengthened in unity. 

3. Disunity is a result of SIN (v3,4)

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Please carefully note what these verses are trying to say. The reason for disunity isn’t really style issues, or worship preference or in marriage “communication issues” but the real issue that causes disunity is the “SIN ISSUE”.  

There are 2 main root sins mentioned here:

a) Self-centredness: 

  • How can I get noticed for doing this or that in the church?
  • If I’m serving the church in this way or that, I’m hoping that at least someone appreciates and acknowledges me for what I’m doing.
  • If I do this for the church or my spouse, what will I get in return? 
  • At the core of it, I’m most concerned of how my needs are met in my church or my marriage? 

b) Pride: 

  • I’m not as bad as the person sitting next to me
  • I’ve got more biblical knowledge and I’ve been so actively involved in the church for years
  • This church event or Sunday service is successful due to my hard work.
  • Why should I go and reconcile when I was the one wronged? I’m right! I’ve not done anything wrong. Especially in marriages there is that common joke which people crack – best way to have a successful marriage – just say that the wife is right. I don’t agree to that because in an argument or a fight – both are in sin and both aren’t right.

If I have to sum up all of these statements that I’m sure we’ve said or thought about in our lives, it’ll come to this “I deserve better”. In our sinful selves we all think we are entitled to something better because we think that we are great human beings.

But we aren’t. We are people whose hearts the Bible describes as “desperately sick”. Apart from the grace of what Christ did for us, we have absolutely no hope. And we are no better than the person sitting right next to us. The person sitting next to us needs infinite grace and so do we.

Even though we are believers saved by grace, we need to recognize the pride and self-centredness that is so evident and prominent in our hearts. 

Which brings me to the last observation:

  1. Only the Gospel can heal Disunity (v3,4)

How do you know if a person is truly in love with Jesus? By his biblical knowledge? No. By his charisma? No. By his great spiritual feats and accomplishments? No. 

Look at his humility! And how does a man become humble knowing how prideful and self-centred we are? 

By kneeling before our Savior and realizing what Jesus did for us in spite of our rejection – how He faithfully pursued us, how He laid down everything for us, how paid the costliest sacrifice and opened the glorious gates of eternal fellowship with Him. That absolutely humbles us. 

Brothers and sisters, I want to encourage and remind you of the power of the gospel this morning. I remember many times either at home, or while listening to a sermon travelling or while at a church gathering like this – my heart was filled with pride and selfishness and being hardened.

But in those times when the gospel was preached, I can’t express but it felt like something was powerfully breaking through my hardened heart mainly humbling me and allowing me to receive the truth and instruction from God. If you are also experiencing self-centredness and pride this morning,

I would urge you to come before our Savior and ask Him to reveal His love and kindness to you. Ask to melt your hardened heart so that you can enjoy true fellowship with Him. 

Categories
Ephesians Sermon Unity

United in Community (Session 2 – Ephesians 4:1-16

I want you to imagine a conversation between a news reporter and a Sunday churchgoer. Let’s call him Akash.

The interviewer asks Akash, “Why are you part of a local church?” Akash quickly answers “It’s because I love the fellowship. The people are very nice and friendly and I’m able to relate with them well”. The interviewer then asks him, ” Well, how is the church any different from any social group- like a football club, chess club, or really close family and friend circles? Isn’t that the same?”

Akash then says “no this is different because I get to sing these beautifully tuned worship songs and because there’s a pastor who teaches some really good and practical stuff for life”.  

The interviewer responds by asking him, ” See…Right now we are in a digital age – you can access all of these best Christian songs and listen to the best preachers from your home itself, why do you have to be a part of a church?”

By now Akash is a little irritated by the questions, “He says – what are you saying…every Sunday I have to go to church. I cannot imagine not going. I’ve been doing that for many years. Apart from this, there’s nothing else that I can do on Sunday”.

Now, this might seem like a silly imaginary conversation but I want all of us to think on why we invest so many hours each week in the weekend Gathering and community? Why don’t we do anything else during that time? And I want us to be challenged by this line of questioning. And how much should we invest in this? Is it just 2 hours a week or much more? Is it worth sacrificing your entire life for it?

The first thing I want us to grasp is that we are in a community not because of social reasons or because there’s nothing else to do but:

We are united by Truth (v4-6)

There are these amazing life-altering truths that joins us together.

A) One body – We are many members of Christ’s single body. We may look different, come from different backgrounds but through Christ, we are now members of one body. Glen and I once shared a shared rickshaw with an elderly couple. Saw a Bible in his hand and we started talking. He was a believer and even though he was 80 years old but also my brother and fellow member of Christ’s body.

B) One Spirit – It’s mindboggling to think that God’s own Spirit dwells in each of us believers. And also to realize that everyone shares the very same Spirit. No partiality. We know that as much as we yield to the Spirit, we are being controlled by Him but in giving us the Spirit God shows no partiality. 

C) One Hope – We will be resurrected. Not ashamed. Pronounced not guilty. Living as heirs in God’s kingdom with God even though we didn’t deserve to be there in the first place. 

D) One Lord – All of us who believe in Jesus have one Master and one Savior. There was only one person who lived the life we could never imagine living – holiness example – walking on puddles. Yet He was willing to take on the punishment that we deserved and give us His righteousness. Exchanging His robe for ours. And His sacrifice transforms our lives once for all. Can anyone else be our Master? He is a Faithful Lord.

E) One Faith – Trusting in Christ’s work to bring us to God. Example: A man drowning in the sea and holding onto a rope. 

F) One Baptism – Declaration of our fellowship with Christ and the church. Doesn’t matter if you’ve been baptized in an interior village of India or at the Omkar pool. It’s a sign of your commitment and God looks at all of it as obedience. 

G) One God the Father – In a country where we boast of 330 million gods, the Bible says there’s only one God – He rules over everything, He is powerful to work through everything so that ultimately everything displays His greatness. 

Secondly, the reason why the church can’t be a disconnected affair where we can be virtually connected through Livestream is because:

We are united for Strength (v7-16) 

We need each other to grow stronger in the Lord. 

I) God giving gifts to each individual believer (v7) 

*  Spiritual Gifts – ” Grace” – undeserving gift of God according to Christ’s measure. There is a purpose to God giving you a gift.

II) Wonderful purpose of spiritual gifts

    * Church leaders are God’s gift to the church to equip (perfect, complete furnishing) the saints for the work of ministry. Servants of the Lord & the church – Church leaders are like joints – binding the skeleton together, giving structure and allowing muscles to move bones to perform different activities. Our job as church leaders is to bring people together, give direction (casting vision) and allow people to use their gifts to do the work of ministry. Coach the church so that everyone is active in body building. (V11, 12) 

    * Unity and Maturity – When will we be fully united? when we become like Christ. When will we be fully mature? When we become like Christ. The goal is to attain the measure of the full stature of the fullness of Christ – Christ likeness is not going to happen alone. It’s going to happen with the church. (V13, 14) 

    * Growth is going to happen when each part of the body is working properly. (V15, 16) 

United in love (v1-3)

Even though we have been given “grace” yet we experience issues within the church – making it more difficult to attain unity. “Sin” and “Strangeness”. What should we do? 

Should we quit? What does Scripture call us to do?  Loving each other through humility and gentleness. Patiently bearing with each other in love. Ensuring with one another. 

If we all are honest, we’ll admit that this is very difficult and impossible to bring about this type of unity by our own efforts. So what’s the solution? 

This is only possible through the Gospel. Only knowing Christ and experiencing His grace can allow us to extend that outwards to each other. 

Questions for discussion:

1. In your experience in the past, what have you perceived the purpose of spiritual gifts to be? 

2. What kind of barriers can stop a church from experiencing unity and maturity in the faith? 

3. Based on today’s passage, what are some things that God is calling you to do in a church which can promote unity and maturity? 

Categories
Philippians Sermon

Joy in Suffering – Philippians 1:27-30

As a church, we’ve been going through a series titled “A Joy Filled Life” from the letter to the Philippians. As we’ve been studying this letter, we realize that this “joy” that is being described in this letter is being experienced not through the best of scenarios and circumstances.

One would imagine someone who speaks about joy to be in a beautiful, calm, pleasant, pain-free environment but Paul actually writes this letter about joy in a prison cell. One of the verses that encouraged all of us last weekend was v21 – “To live is Christ and to die is gain”.

So much is the joy and treasure found in the midst of a prison cell and in suffering. And what we will see this week is not only was Paul undergoing suffering but also was the church at Philippi. Their circumstances were no less difficult and challenging than Paul’s. Read with me in v27-30

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy[h] of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

I want to ask this question to a few of us whose home isn’t in Mumbai. You’ve moved cities and come to Mumbai for either work or studies. Do you remember the last thing your parents told you before you left home?

Probably something on the lines of: make sure you eat well. Make sure you’re staying in a good locality and make sure that you have good friends. And every time they call you, these are the same things that they check on you.

It’s coming from a place of concern and they want to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself in their absence. And in some similar ways I think Paul is trying to make sure that the Philippian church is doing well. Paul after all is their spiritual father in the faith.

He brought the gospel to them, discipled them, nurtured them and you’d have to believe that they were dependent on him as well. But now they find themselves in a position where he’s far from them bound in a prison cell while they are in Philippi without their spiritual father facing persecution for the same faith.

What is the most important thing for them to know, believe and obey right now? When we go through real persecution in our homes and workplaces because of our faith…what is the most important thing we need to know, believe and obey?

V27 says: Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel. The Greek phrase for manner of life is actually “behave or conduct yourself as a citizen who has been changed by the gospel”.

You might be a citizen of Rome or India but your true citizenship is of heaven and you must live a life in line with the gospel. I hope all of us have this question right now – okay, but what is a life worthy of the gospel? It’s a life that recognizes that it’s 

Because of God and not because of us

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

As we think about our past – we don’t look at it as glory or something great but rather as being lost and dead. We were not great but dead. In our rebellion and sin, we were incapable of turning to God and responding to God by ourselves.

That’s what “dead” means. But here’s God’s commitment toward us. He reveals his goodness and loving kindness. Which means that we deserved condemnation and destruction but God chose to show us kindness. And this kindness is not because of good works or great efforts (filthy rags) but because of God’s mercy.

Because we were dead, God had to wash what was unclean and repair the broken wiring through the Holy Spirit. This wonderful gift was made possible only because God’s Son – Jesus Christ fully and sufficiently paid the complete price on the cross. He didn’t pay half. He didn’t pay 75%. He paid it all! And He rose again to declare the work is done and those who commit and surrender their lives to Jesus Christ (not me but because of Him) will have no reason to fear God’s judgment but instead enjoy God’s love and fellowship.

That’s why it’s so essential for us to know “It’s Because of God, not because of us”. That’s the theme of the Christian life. Every single day we wake up, we remind ourselves of the same. Every single Sunday we come to the Gathering, we say the same thing. We sing the same thing.

For God and not for us

Sometimes there is this misconception that because of the gospel and grace, it lowers the standard of holiness for God’s people. And that’s absolutely not true. If anything, it raises the standard and shows that we all have a higher calling. 

You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Cor 6:19,20) – You belong to God. You are His. Live for Him.

14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. – Old man – Old person – dead…if you’ve understood and responded to love of God, then your Boss has changed. Your Master has changed. Your reason to live has changed.

Out of Love

And this obedience and pursuit of holiness and living a life worthy of the gospel isn’t done out of reluctance or unwillingness – it is done out of love. 

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (John 14:15) – We obey out of love for Christ. Our motivation for obedience also has radically changed through the gospel. We read the Bible each morning not because we expect some blessing from God but out of love.

We share the gospel with the people in our lives not out of compulsion but out of love. We pursue holy living not to earn God’s favour but out of love for God. We repent of our sins not only because we want to be guilt-free but because we love Christ and we want to grow in a relationship with Him. 

And that’s the most important thing for all of us to know, believe and obey each and every day! Even if this is the only thing that you remember from today – that’s great because we need to live a manner of life worthy of the gospel. We need to remind each other about this same thing every every day. 

Here’s Paul’s application for the Philippian believers. He’s telling them that the gospel of Christ & living a manner worthy of the gospel was going to produce:

1. Internal Unity

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy[h] of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

Although the Philippian church was fruitful, generous, obedient, like any other church they also had divisions and fights among them. We’ll be reading a little more about that in the coming chapters but their greatest struggle was to find unity among the members.

Think about this guys – imagine an army of one nation trying to battle against another army. What would happen if one of those armies started fighting amongst themselves? Total chaos and a lost war. 

You can imagine how divisions and fights within the church affect the witness of the church. 

This is what Mahatma Gandhi said: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” And so many like him are put-off by what happens in a church & that’s why there are some people who chose not to be a part of a church because they see the mess that’s in it. 

When we come together as a church – we do bring alongwith us our sins and differences which is why there is going to be conflict. But instead of quitting and leaving the church because of the conflict that is in it, Christ calls us to commitment.

We are sinful, we are broken, we are different but the beauty is in seeing how Christ unites us and restores us through the gospel. 

Imagine right now if there is a conflict within our church – what do we do? How do we deal with this issue? Take sides? No. We remind each other that we were saved not because of us but because of God’s mercy. That humbles us.

We remind each other that we live for God and not for us. No longer do we live for our own selfishness and pride. We remind each other that we will bear with each other and love each out of our love for Christ. No matter what we will fight for unity through forgiveness and repentance out of love for Christ.   

2. External Boldness

One thing that was happening at the time is that the Philippian church was being hit with persecution. The problem people had with Christians was not so much that they were following Christ but that they were failing to properly worship the community gods especially the emperor.

Does that sound familiar? The decision to follow Christ brought severe social (families cutting ties), economic (losing their jobs and business) and legal consequences (taken to court, harsh punishments and being labelled as traitors). And it’s in this context that Paul tells them that the gospel was going to produce boldness in front of their opponents. 

I know many times in churches we tend to focus on the happy and comfortable things – God’s love and peace and joy that He gives us but if we ignore this topic of “suffering” we end up missing out on a big part of what it means to be a Christian. Yes, you heard it right. Suffering for Christ – not for doing wrong – but for the gospel is a very important part of being a follower of Jesus. 

Yes, and this passage offers two very important things that I don’t want us to miss out on: 

i) Suffering is proof of your genuineness. (v28)

28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

Biblically – there are many tests that can help us understand if we are truly in the faith or not. One of those tests – is suffering – how we respond to suffering and if we are still standing in the midst of suffering reveals if we are genuine pakka believers or not. 

If we look like the world, act like the rest of the world, talk like the rest of the world and think like the rest of the world, there would actually be no persecution. The world aggressively hates and opposes believers because they are radically different from all of them.

So this should really makes us question ourselves – have we ever faced opposition from our unbelieving family members or our work colleagues or neighbours because of the gospel? And if we’ve faced them, how are we standing? I’m not saying that we won’t experience pain or fear but is the suffering leading us to reject Christ or depend on Him all the more because our faith is genuine!  I would challenge all of us to think on this.

ii) Suffering is a gift of God which indicates your union with Christ (v29)  

29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

Sometimes it seems contradictory, how can something like suffering be considered a gift from God. “The world will hate you because they hate me” is what Jesus said in John 15. All suffering because of the gospel ultimately happens because people are broken and rebellious toward Christ.

And the fact that that anger is directed toward us shows that we are His. We belong to Him. We are His family. He is united to us. And here’s the promise guys – God is not someone who allows us to suffer while He’s at a distance. His presence is not just with us but more powerfully experienced during times of suffering. 

1 Peter 4:4 – If you insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 

There are aspects of God’s character and love that we can only understand as we are suffering for Him. And that will deepen our love and faith in Him.