Author: Saju Joseph

Categories
Philippians Sermon

The Joy of Generous Giving – Philippians 4:14-23

Our passage for today is Philippians 4:14-23.

Today we are concluding our sermon series on the letter of Philippians. In these passage, Paul is ending his letter by thanking the church for sharing in his trouble and for their partnership in giving and receiving.

In times of Paul’s greatest need the church stood with him and sent him a gift offering to provide for all his need through brother Epaphraditus. And this was not the first time the church sent a gift, they did this at several occasions.

More than rejoicing in the fact that his needs were met, he rejoices for the increasing fruit the believers are going to receive because of their giving.

Here are a couple of observations we can gather from the passage.

We don’t know what exactly the gift was, it could be cash or maybe food, clothes etc. But in both cases we know for that money had to be collected.

For Epapraditus to take a huge risk with his life to deliver the gift and for Paul to say ‘I am well supplied’, the believe the gift must have costed a substantial amount.

For the church to contribute such a huge sum of money, every member of the church must have generously given.

Since we are now talking about money, let me also share some truths we need to know about money, especially in the church context.

– Whenever a donation or an offering is asked by a church leader, it is not because God needs our money, or that God’s church lacks anything. God is self sufficient and needs no man’s help to build His Kingdom, His Church.

– Everything we have belongs to God and we have no right to hold back even a paisa. We owe everything to Him and he has all the rights to take it away.

– When we are asked to give back a certain portion from what we receive from Him, God is protecting our heart from making money our idol.

In Matthew 6:24 Jesus said “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Therefore, when we are asked to give, whether as an offering to meet church needs, or for missions, or to help a brother or sister in need. God is opening an opportunity for us to search our hearts and evaluate whether money has taken his place, whether we trust in money or in God, whether we see our security in money or in God.

A man or a women who gives generously to Gods work exhibits his/her trust in God. Secondly, it is also a way in which God brings about a balance in the manner in which money and the earthly resources are equally distributed among his children according to their needs and necessities.

God uses all kinds of people and all kinds of ministry to expand His glory and it is the responsibility of each child of God to generously participate in whatever measure they can contribute.

In the Old Testament, a large group of people called the Levite’s were called to do certain tasks in the temple which did not yield them any wages. And therefore others were asked to set apart one tenth of their wages as a contribution to meet the needs of the Levite’s.

We read that in Numbers 18:21 God says “To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting” Giving to the need of the church and to Gods ministry is a mandate every child of God should carry in their heart.

As we are talking about the joy of giving, here are three reasons from this passage that should encourage us to be generous giver.

1. We give because God first gave

God is a generous giver.

In verse 19 “My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” God is not holding back any good thing from us, and if there is delay from His end it is only for our good.

The greatest gift of all is even though we sinned against God and while we were still sinners, God gave his only son to die for us so that he can save us from eternal death. – He gave away His best to us.

Therefore when we are asked to give let us give from a grateful heart remembering His generosity towards us.

2. We give to receive increasing fruit

In verse 17 Paul writes, “Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit”, it affirms the fact that there is a reward that God gives to those who generously give.

In Luke 6:38 Jesus says “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Now, when we talk about receiving return gifts from God for our giving, we should also be careful not to do it with wrong motivation and expectations.

A lot of people when they give they give it as though the Kingdom of God is a stock market, where you systematically invest in ministries that you think will give high returns.

We don’t treat God that way. We have to careful of prosperity preachers who ask us to sow seeds in their ministries expecting high returns.

Therefore, before we give, it is important that we get plugged into a healthy gospel-centered church that help us grow and mature in the things of God that matters to our soul, allowing God to sanctify our heart and mind, destroy the idols of selfishness, boastfulness and pride.

God is not interested in our sacrifices if our heart is not in the right place. In Hosea 6:6 God is saying “I don’t want your sacrifices—I want your love; I don’t want your offerings—I want you to know me.”

When we give, we give with a right attitude, an attitude that is renewed and repaired by the influence of the Gospel. And when God sees the real heart of the giver he gives it back in full measure because God is not a debtor of man.

And finally…

3. We give to increase our joy in Christ

As we read through verse 14 to 18 we see the joy in Paul’s heart. He was in trouble, he was in need, he needed encouragement, and he received all of that in full measure through the kind and generous gesture of the Church in Philippi.

There is a certain sense of joy that we experience, not only when we receive but also when we give.

In Acts 20:35 the author reminds the church about what Jesus said about giving, Jesus said “It is more blessed to give than to receive”

At Gathering, we don’t talk a lot about the topic of giving in the church, maybe because of the abuse of money in so called Christian ministries, but it doesn’t mean that giving is not important, in fact it is so very crucial.

A generous giving of time, money and resources to the church speaks a lot about our faith and attitude towards God.

As Elders of the church we speak out of our own lives, just like you all we too have full-time jobs, we do not take any salary from the church offertory, we provide for our own needs and equally participate in giving. What we are asking you to do is something we all do and and have experienced joy and blessings.

Therefore, I encourage each one of you to joyfully participate in the Joy of giving, it is not just a request but a mandate, a command from the Lord to give.

Categories
Philippians Sermon

Whatsoever brings True Joy – Philippians 4:8-9

Let’s turn to our passage Philippians 4:8-9.

Let’s read.

One of India’s well known author, noble price winning economist Mr. Amartya Sen has written a book called ‘The Argumentative Indian’. In his book he talks about our Indian culture and how its built on arguments, arguments made between kings, politicians, religious leaders & the common men in our society.

According to Mr Sen today’s culture is a product of those arguments, our country in run based on such arguments, our constitution is built on such arguments, our company policies are made on such arguments, our society is built on such arguments, our family values & traditions are decided on such arguments, we live and look at life through the lenses of such arguments and suggestions made by people all around us. 

We are often told that to live a prosperous, productive and fulfilling life we need to hold on to these values, traditions, policies, rules that has been passed on to us by our ancestors. And even though they aren’t all bad, it does bring some sort of order and discipline in our lives, we need to know that they only bring external changes in us, and it can never ever bring permanent, true & lasting joy, peace and hope in our life.

Therefore, to experience true love, joy, peace, hope what we really need to hold on to are the things that bring internal heart changes.

Paul is concluding his letter to the Philippians and in the passage we just read he is asking the church to think about and to hold on to the things that will truly bring heart transformation and will lead us into experiencing true and genuine love, lasting joy, unimaginable peace and ever growing hope.

Therefore this morning I want to urge you brothers and sisters to refocus our time, energy, efforts, our thoughts towards such godly virtues and not what the world around us is talking, arguing and pressing on us.

And unlike the people of the world (leaders, politicians, family members, managers, bosses) Paul isn’t a hypocrite who is telling us to behave in a certain manner without living it out himself, he spent and sacrificed his whole life for the things that were true.

In verse 9 he says “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” It is very rare in today world to hear someone say that way.

There are 6 things Paul is asking the church to think about and hold on to, because of time constraints I won’t expound on all six, rather I will spend more time on the first one (which I think is most important) and then I will just introduce you the rest 5 and share some thoughts for your to ponder on when you go back home.

Paul isn’t offering us counsel; he’s giving us a command.

Think about or hold on to whatever is …

TRUE

It is important to know the Truth.

Illustration of the room being a spaceship

Unless we know what is TRUE we can never be free.

Jesus said “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free”

John 8:32

But what is the truth we need to hold on to?

Just like the example of this room being a space ship, we were all born in this tiny little world (tiny compared to the vast universe), and every day we are trying to discover more about this world through experiences and through arguments with each other. And what we call as traditions, rules, logic is the intellectual outcome of our thinking which may not be true. Because no matter how hard we try, we keep failing by destroying this good earth every single day.

And we when we realize the futility of our actions, the destruction we are causing to one another as we seek our own  pleasure, our dead religion, corrupt politics, sick traditions etc Its important to know the truth. 

The truth about who we are?

The truth about why we are?

The truth of what’s going to happen?

The truth about how we are getting out of this place?

And the only way we get know the truth about our story is when we understand the story of the one who created us, created the universe – God.

Let’s understand the story of God as revealed to us through his divine providence. BTW we only know the story as much as he has revealed to us in the bible. The bible, even though it is written by men it is inspired by God, and everyday this word of God confirms its power and authority over our lives by transforming the hearts of men all around the world.

And the story of God, according to this scripture tells us that when he created the world he also created us in his own image and likeness out of sheer delight, to share a loving relationship. He wanted us to multiply and have dominion over the earth, but he wanted us to do that under His authority and rule. But because we were made in the image of God we also inherited his qualities, one of them been the power to choose and make decisions for ourselves.

 Now God wanted us to use that power he gave us to willingly choose to honour him and worship him and enjoy this good earth he created for us.

But instead of choosing the right thing we chose the opposite. When the evil one told us that by disobeying God we will be like him, we liked the idea and ate the fruit from the forbidden tree. But we forgot that God is in control and has all authority in heaven and earth to do what he pleases.

Using his authority, God had to throw us out of the garden and separated us from his love. God wanted us to know that without Him we are a wreak, we will destroy ourselves if we pursue to become our own gods. And because we chose that in Roman 1:24-26, 28-31

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 28 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions.


And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Now the question is how do we get out of it?

The answer is “Only God can get us out of this”

This is how God brought us back to him.

John 3:16 says “For God the Father so loved the world he gave his only begotten son to die for us so that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”

God the son, Jesus himself came down on this earth, lived the life we were supposed to live, made the choices we were supposed to make, lived a perfect live our behalf, and then exchanged that life with us. He took the penalty of our wrong choices upon himself and instead gave us his righteousness. He defeated Sin and death for us and is now seated on the right hand of the Father and guess what he is doing?

He is interceding for us to the Father. Even after becoming a child of God, because of our indwelling sin we do commit sin again in our flesh, but when we fall, realize our mistake, go back to God in repentance. Jesus looks at his Father as says I’ve already paid for that which he just committed, he is worthy of love and forgiveness.

And the only way we can be set free from this sick body and this sick world is when we humbly accept and repent of our sins and receive his grace by putting our faith in Jesus.

And unless we grab hold of this truth daily, remind ourselves, soak ourselves, we will never experience internal heart change, we will never live the life God wants us to live. And that is why Paul is insisting that we constantly think about what is truth.

HONORABLE

In the bible, honor means to respect, esteem or give “weight to”

Matthew 19:19 – Honor our parents

Matthew 18:2-6 – Honor children

1 Timothy 5:17 – Double honor to pastors and church leaders

Ephesians 5:33 – honor husbands

1 peter 3:7 – honor wives

2 tim 2:21 – honor God

Honor is about serving and respecting others. It requires humility, integrity (honesty) and a constant pursuit of righteousness.

Because Jesus exemplified in all the above, It is only by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus that we may keep our minds fixed on ‘whatever is honorable’. To walk in honorable ways with one another won’t be hard if we fix our eyes on Jesus.

Go back home and read and think about the ways in which Jesus exemplified in honoring God and honoring people.

JUST

God sets the standard for what is just and right.

How did Christ treat us justly? – followers of Christ are to follow his example.

Ephesians 4:32 – Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Galatians 2:20 – I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

PURE

How do I think pure thoughts?

We think pure thoughts when we are awestruck by God’s wisdom, his character, his power, his HOLINESS.

Go back home and read and think about these things, the true definition of PURE is only found in God, therefore as we think and meditate on his purity, we will see how wrethed we are and therefore the cross will look more beautiful each day.

LOVELY

To think about whatever is Lovely is to think about everything that’s we’ve drawn from God’s mercy and grace. Starting with salvation, for the joy and peace we get to experience each day, the family God has given us, the church, the city we live in.

John 1:16 says “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.”

This morning I was drawn to think about the lovely things God has done in each of your life. the way you have grown and matured in the last few years, what God is doing in your life.

COMMENDABLE

And finally he says, think about and hold on to whatever is commendable.

What should we think of whats commendable?

“For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods” (Psalm 96:4).”

“Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom” (Psalm 145:3).

“You are worthy, our LORD and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being” (Revelation 4:11).

His greatness

His wisdom

His creativity

His character

Brothers & sisters,  lets refocus our time, energy & efforts to think about these virtues that change us internally and produce long lasting fruits.

As we take communion here’s one more opportunity for us to think and meditate on his love.

Categories
Philippians Sermon

Joy-filled Pursuits – Philippians 3:15-21

Today’s passage Philippians 3:15-21

Throughout the letter of Philippians, Paul is encouraging us to live a joy-filled life, and as he is addressing the heart issues and giving us Kingdom perspectives he is also helping us with practical bits of advice to reach our goal, the goal to know Christ and live the kind of life God intended for us to live – Blessed, Joyful, Satisfactory and Wonderful.

The passage we are looking at today is one such portion where Paul is giving us helpful, practical advice and therefore I urge you to pay close attention and receive it with an open heart because who knows this could be a life-changing moment for you today.

Practical Advice #1: Seek to be Mature in your Faith 

In verse 15, Paul writes “Let those of us who are mature”, in KJV version it says “those of us who are perfect”.

In this statement, Paul is addressing to those who are mature because he intends that some in the church are mature, but what exactly does Paul mean when he uses the word ‘mature’ or ‘perfect’.

In the worldly sense, the word mature & perfect would in relation to a person who has achieved the highest level of intellect and maybe the highest level of perfection in everything he does. 

But that’s not what Paul would define it, because he would not claim to have achieved that level of perfection himself. In 3v12, Paul writes “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.”

Here’s how Paul explains maturity in 1 Corinthians 13:11, he says “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”

According to Paul, to be mature is to move out of the baby state and continue growing from being a baby to a man.

To Paul a mature person is not baby Christians, they are not the ones who stopped growing in their faith after they first became a believer, instead, they are the once who continue to grow in their knowledge of the Gospel.

As per Paul’s statement in v15 “they are the one’s who think this way”, in saying so he is referring to what he said earlier in 2v5-8 saying “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

According to Paul, a mature Christian is the one who has the mindset of Jesus; one who is continually emptying himself at the throne of God’s grace and one who continues to stay humble and obedient to the point of death. 

Paul is expecting us to be found mature as we grow in our Christian life and in verse 16 he says “let us hold fast to what we have attained”. 

Paul also refers to those who think otherwise in v15, those who are immature. They are men who are still babies; they can maybe articulate the Gospel in words but are far away from real heart transformation.

Brothers and sisters, here’s how we know we are still baby Christians. 

 Baby Christians are Lazy – Hebrews 5:11 “We have so much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.” 

“Slow to learn” is the translation of the Greek word, “Lazy.”

Baby Christians know little about the content of the Bible – They fail to meditate and investigate the Scriptures that has the power to set us free from all our bondages. Psalms 119:36 – He inclines our heart to his word, Psalms 119:18 – He opens our eyes of understanding, Psalms 90:14 – He satisfies our souls. These are all nutritious food for the nourishment of our spiritual being to grow to be a man.

Baby Christians Handle the Word of God Poorly – 

2 Corinthians 2:17 – For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God, we speak in Christ.

They read the word just like everyone else but misapplies it by adding human understanding and even go about teaching the same to others.

Baby Christians have inadequate knowledge of Christ – As Paul mentions in Philippians 3:10-12, they know not the power of His resurrection, and they fail to participate in the sufferings of Christ.

Baby Christians are Christians whose attention is still dominated by earthly things – Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on the things above, not on earthly things.”

Baby Christians are those who are unwilling to pay the cost of being a follower of Jesus – Luke 14:33 “those of you who do not give up everything cannot be my disciple.”

Yes, it is possible to attain joy-filled Christian life but not if we are failing to grow in maturity and hold fast to who we have received. And we grow in maturity when we grow into an intimate relationship with Christ and the church.

Practical advice #2: Imitate those who imitate Christ 

In verse 17, Paul goes on to say “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.”

As you all must have already figured out, it is not easy to live a Christian life; there will be challenges along the way, there will be doubts and confusion in our mind, there will be circumstances that will pull us down, there will be persecution as a follower of Christ. 

God is not unaware of all that we go through; in fact, his grace and providence (help) are always with us. With full confidence, we can join with King David and say “Even though I walk through the valley of shadows of death, I will fear no evil, for he is with me” “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

One such providence that God has given us to combat fear, doubts, challenges and confusion are the faithful men and women of God he’s placed in our lives.

And that is why Paul is saying “Imitate me as I imitate Christ”, and “imitate those who walk according to the example you have in me”. Like the example of Timothy & Epapharaditus as we learned from their lives in the earlier passages.

In difficult times, it could be hard sometimes to see Christ and follow his example at all times, in our wretchedness, pride, frustrations and sadness we can fail to Christ in our situation. And what Paul is suggesting, which I don’t see as unbiblical, is that in such cases imitate Godly and faithful men who are imitating Christ. 

In doing so, we are not looking at people as an authority but as examples who follow the real authority. Not for authority but for inspiration. 

Which means we don’t make an idol out of the person we are imitating, but we are watching them respond to fear, doubt, frustration, confusion, suffering and disaster that honours Christ, and we do the same.

  • Imitate the men and women in the Bible.
  • Imitate the men and women in Church history who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the Gospel, who trusted God in their hard circumstances and honoured him. Read their stories and find your inspiration.
  • Imitate you immediate Church leaders who God has placed over you as shepherds
  • Imitate you fellow brother & sister who walk faithfully alongside you.

We can attain a joy-filled life if we seek and imitate Godly men.

Practical Advice #3:  Watch out for the enemies of the cross of Christ

18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

And finally, in this passage, Paul also advises us to watch out for the enemies of the cross of Christ. And just as sorrowful is Paul as he is saying these words, I am sad too in telling you that Yes, there exist, men who seem to be godly men from outside, who seem to say the right things, quote scriptures, pray earth-shattering prayers, but they are enemies of God. Jesus calls them “ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing”, the agents of the devil himself, Jesus said you would know them by their fruits.

Here’s how Paul helps us identify such men:

  • Their God is their belly – People who believe that this life on earth is all about eating, drinking, and being merry and become gluttons, alcoholics, and seekers of pleasure rather than seekers of God.
  • They glory in their shame – People who boast of those things of which they ought to be ashamed.
  • Their minds are set on earthly things – People who are taken up in the pursuit of their sensual and earthly enjoyments rather than in Christ.

Paul is urging that we chose wisely the men whom we imitate.

And finally, Paul closes this chapter with a word of encouragement and giving us hope for the future.

As we walk faithfully as mature Christians, ones who’ve been transformed by the Gospel of Jesus. Pressing on in all circumstances, imitating one another in the Lord, be watchful of wolves. 

Our final destiny is going to be even more glorious and mind-blowing. 

We will be citizens in heaven, transformed into glorious bodies.

It’s up to us what choice we make to get us there.

Categories
Philippians Sermon

Joy-filled Identity – Philippians 3:1-11

As we continue our series on “Joy filled life” from the letter to the Philippians, we’ll explore today what a “Joy-filled Identity” is from chapter 3 v1-11. What does that look like? Let’s turn to our passage for today:

[Read Philippians 3:1-11]

1. We all have a flawed Religious Identity (v4-7)

4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law,[c] blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

The context of today’s passage was that Paul being their spiritual father was trying to warn the church to be careful of false teachers who were telling the church that they needed to be circumcised in order to be saved and considered as believers.

Circumcision in the OT was a defining mark of being part of God’s covenant people. It started from Abraham and then got passed on through the generations of the Israelites.

Now circumcision was a preparatory sign used by God but its fulfilment was found in Jesus. Through Jesus, we are not only considered as members of God’s covenant but even more intimately as members of His family (v3).

Now the Philippians were Gentile believers & they came to faith by believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Suddenly these false teachers came in and were trying to tell them that just faith in Jesus wasn’t enough.

They needed to also get circumcised. And that was a dangerous thing to get into. I’ll tell you why.

Imagine someone telling to a person who says they’ve understood the gospel, repented of their sin and trusted in Jesus Christ finishing work on the cross – “Faith in Jesus Christ is okay.

But along with this if you want to be a pakka believer then you must : Change your name, start eating non-veg, stop talking to unbelievers in your home or friend circle, you must live the way a certain spiritual person lives, you must dress like a way a certain person does – only if you do these things you’ll be saved”.

I hope we all can see the danger of the teaching that Christ’s sacrifice is not enough but needs to be supplemented. And this is absolutely wrong which is why Paul uses such strong words for these false teachers.   

And Paul then uses his own example to explain how meaningless it was to trust in his religious identity. In fact he tells them in a sense – if you guys think that it’s important to trust and have confidence in our religious identity before God, then I had more reasons when I was an unbeliever. And he goes on to list it down:

  • Circumcised on the eighth day – as per the law
  • Of the people of Israel – Both his parents were Jews – so Paul was a pure pakka Israelite
  • Of the tribe of Benjamin – It was the only tribe along with Judah that remained faithful to David’s descendants. Also Saul – the first king of Israel came from the same tribe.
  • A Hebrew of Hebrews: He was fully loyal to all the ancestral traditions
  • As to the law, a Pharisee – They were very strict in their interpretation and practice of the law.
  • As to zeal, a persecutor of the church – so zealous was he for the traditions that he went ahead and persecuted the church – arresting them, dragging them violently and also ordering their killing.
  • Righteousness under the law, blameless – in terms of external obedience no one could point a finger at him. He followed everything to the tee.

But after doing all of this, he arrives at the conclusion that “all of this was a loss” – useless -empty! He did all of this and it amounted to ZERO! Now I know as I’m talking about this – many of us probably think – “Hey, I know the gospel message.

I believed it many years back. And I don’t trust in my religious identity anymore – I only trust in Jesus Christ”.  But let’s examine our foundations. How do you know if a building has strong foundations? Not when the weather is pleasant and calm but when it goes through storms and earthquakes and still manages to stand.

Let’s ask ourselves: “How do I respond to God when I fall into sin?”

Do we think “God’s mad at me right now. He’s probably really angry with me. Let me avoid God for a few days and hope that the anger goes away”? After a few days do we think “if I spend more time reading the Bible, if I spend more time praying, if I get more involved with the church and immerse myself in church activities, then God might be happy…He might be appeased.

He won’t be angry anymore” Are these the thoughts and responses toward God when we fall into sin? If yes, then we are still in manner or form trusting in our religious identity. At a deep heart level we say and believe that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross isn’t sufficient and needs to be supplemented with our bible reading, praying and service in the church.

Don’t get me wrong – reading the bible, praying and serving in the church are good things and God wants that from all of us but that’s not the reason God approves and accepts us. Those are not the reasons why God calls us His children. 

Many times we forget the sheer impossibility of reaching God by our religious identity. 

This is what Jesus says in Matt 5:20 – For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

What? Is Jesus really saying that my righteousness (works done to be pronounced as upright before God) needs to exceed Paul’s righteousness when he used to be a Pharisee? I mean we just saw the list – in that case it’s virtually impossible for us to enter the kingdom of heaven and fellowship with God if this is the standard. 

Praise God that He didn’t leave us there with our flawed religious identity but in fact 

2. Christ Gifted us a new Identity (v9)

9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith

Many of us might be aware of the story of Derek Redmond. He was a British athlete who holds the record for the 400m sprint in Britain and has won gold medals for his country in the World Championships. 

By the time of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, he was in very good form. He clocked the fastest time of the first round, and went on to win his quarter-final. In the semi-final, Redmond started well, but in the back straight about 250 metres from the finish, his hamstring tore. He hobbled to a halt, and then fell to the ground in pain.

Stretcher-bearers made their way over to him, but Redmond decided he wanted to finish the race. He began to hobble along the track. He was soon joined on the track by his father, Jim Redmond, who barged past security and on to the track to get to his son.

Jim and Derek completed the lap of the track together, with Derek leaning on his father’s shoulder for support. And in a sense that’s the picture of us who need to trust in the faithfulness of Christ. Our own religious identity that we build for ourselves can’t get us to the finish line. We are disabled and injured and we desperately need the help of Jesus to carry us to the end.

Right throughout the Bible – that’s been the message of grace. God never tells us – fix yourselves. Straighten up. In fact the message us – You can’t do it yourself. You need a Savior. And He will give you an identity you cant earn or purchase by ourselves. The Greek word used for “faith” also means “faithfulness” in this text.

This righteousness has been gifted to us through the “faithfulness of my Savior Jesus Christ”. He came for you and me. He is the only one who has ever lived and will ever live a perfectly righteous life. And then willingly laid down His life to show His commitment and faithfulness toward us.

He rose again on third Day declaring His victory over everything that enslaved us. And for everyone who comes to Him in humility – losing their flawed religious identity – not my Bible reading, not my Bible knowledge, not my spiritual activities, not my good efforts at living a life – all the crutches that they are holding onto and desperately call on Him to save – He will save and will gift them a New Identity – His own identity. That’s the beauty of the gospel message – Christ’s righteousness not attained but gifted! 

But what’s the purpose of this gifted identity? 

3. The purpose of the Gifted Identity is for Intimacy (v8,10-11)

8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

At one time our religious identity was used to earn favor and approval from God which we couldn’t because it was flawed. But if God has now approved and accepted us fully in Christ Jesus, what is the point of the identity? It is for INTIMACY! To know Him better. And that makes total sense! 

Imagine you were drowning in the sea calling out for help. You called out loudly but no one heard you and no one came to help. But then one man saw you from a distance at the shore, had compassion on you and jumped into the sea – risking his life to save you.

He pulls you out and saves your life. What’s your response going to be toward him? Extreme gratitude and indebtedness. Yes, absolutely but also you want to know him. I want to know this person better who risked his life to save me.

Not only would I now want to know him but now I’ll want to testify about him. When I speak to my family, friends and colleagues and tell them about my incident, I’ll always tell them about the man who saved my life. 

Now Christ has not just saved us for our earthly lives but He has saves us for eternity! Why is this important for us? It’s important because it reminds our heart that everything that we do is to enable us to know Christ.

If I’m reading the Bible or studying theology – the goal is to know Christ and testify about Him. If I’m serving the church in some way – the goal is to know Christ and testify about Him.

If I’m sharing the gospel with someone – the goal is to know Christ and testify through that experience. If I’m obeying Scripture – the goal is to know Christ and testify about Him. Intimacy is the goal!

Categories
Philippians Sermon

Men Like These – Philippians 2:25-30

The passage we will look into today is Philippians 2:25-30

Before we begin, I want to ask a question. Can you name your favourite hero from the Bible whom you like & admire? And why?

Very often, when we think about our favourite heroes, we prefer the ones that are famous and the ones who are top leaders in their community. We usually have a perception that only a few men with exceptionally high qualities are great. The world looks up and appreciates men with exceptional attributes and looks down on the ones who are insignificant and small.

But in the bible, in Luke 9, an argument aroused among the disciples of Jesus as to which of them was the greatest and Jesus responded by saying “For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.” 

In today’s passage, we will read about one such hero. His name is Epaphroditus. 

Philippians 2:25-30:

25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

Honestly, I knew nothing about Epaphroditus until I read this passage and started investigating him. Could be because he wasn’t a famous hero like the other characters in the Bible who achieved great things for the Kingdom of God and there is also not much written about him to grab our attention.

But even though he wasn’t great like others, he was a special one. I won’t be surprised to hear that in heaven, he’s considered one of the greatest, greater than other folks, maybe even greater than King Solomon. 

In closing of this passage in verse 29 while talking about Epaphroditus, Paul writes to the Church of Philippi saying “receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honour such men”. And that is what we will discover in today’s sermon, what makes Epaphroditus so unique. I’ve made three observations that make men like Epaphroditus unique.

The first quality I see in men like him is that they…

Are fully transformed by the Gospel 

Interestingly, Epaphroditus’s name is of pagan origin. It means “belonging to Aphrodite”—the name of the goddess is incorporated into the name Epaphroditus.

I am assuming that when Epaphroditus heard & received the Gospel, it opened his eyes to the dead religion he was following, made him aware of the vanity of life, and set him free to serve the living God. The idol he worshipped had no claim on him, regardless of his name.

Brothers & Sisters, I hope you know that the life we live on this earth without God is a total lie. It is twisted and bathed in sin. The world we live in is not the world God created and intended it to be. When God created the world and human beings, he instructed us to walk in his precepts so we can enjoy it as God intended, but unfortunately the first man God created sinned against him by disobeying his commands. 

According to the law of God, even though the punishment for our sin was death, instead of killing us, God gave us a second chance, second chance not to try and make it right in our own efforts, which we will never accomplish. Second chance by giving us an opportunity to receive the gift of salvation through his son Jesus.

Externally, to accept this salvation, we repent of our sins and put our faith in Christ. But internally there is a miraculous transformation that happens in our heart when we receive Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour.

And the proof that we are truly believers and followers of Christ can’t be determined only by the mere external confessions, like repentance and saying it out loud to others that we believe in Jesus; it is the internal transformation that’s the proof of the pudding.

A portion of food placed on your table can look beautiful & pretty, but the real test is the taste when we put it in our mouth.

It is tough to know whether a person is a true believer in the first instance. It is only when we spend time with him/her and get to know that person better that we see the effects of the transformation evident in the person’s life.

Reading about Epaphroditus, looking at his life and reading Pauls words, we can surely confirm that his life was a fully transformed life. He was not someone who would say I love Jesus, but I also love goddess Aphrodite, both are same for me. In my house, I have Jesus’s picture and Aphrodite’s picture side by side, and they are both gods for me.

He was not someone who would say I love Jesus, but I also love the world and its pleasures. On Sunday I go to Church, sing songs and listen to whatever the preacher blabbers, on Friday I go to GC, and enjoy the party. But other days are for me, and I live it as I like. 

What makes Epaphaditus and men like him special is the fact that their repentance and faith in Jesus are genuine & true and it could be witnessed by their transformed lives. 

It doesn’t mean that they were perfect human beings but you can see the fire of the Gospel burning in their heart, transforming them into the image of Christ every single day.

If we had met Epaphraditus and asked him about his life, what is special about him and about his life, he would have definitely said: “Christ in me the hope of glory”.

The second quality that makes men like Epaphroditus special is that they…

Are committed to, loved & approved by the Church 

Paul was in prison, and the Church wanted to send him a care package. It was a risky operation, and they wanted a man who could be trusted, courageous, servant-hearted, humble – and Epaphroditus was chosen for it.

25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need

Epaphroditus was not chosen randomly but chosen with due diligence. Paul’s words in verse 26 “for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill” suggests that he had a deep and affectionate relationship with the Church in Philippi. When the Church needed help to deploy a risky operation, they found Epaphraditus worthy and ready for the task. 

After observing him for months and years, they knew there was no better person than Epaphraditus for the task. Under no circumstances will Epaphraditus abandon the mission. They knew he had a servant’s heart and will faithfully serve Paul with a genuinely loving heart. 

To be chosen by them for such a task, Epaphroditus must have walked faithfully while he was among them, fully committed to the Church.

Epaphroditus was a man of obvious devotion, faithfulness, and self-sacrifice. He put “the interests of others” before himself, and so modelled the mind of Christ.

Epaphroditus may not have been a very talented guy with extraordinary skills, but seems to me like a regular guy who served the Church with whatever capacity he had. He was in love with the Church, and the Church loved him, and when a need arose, he was chosen and approved. That makes him special.

To Paul, he was a “brother” (belonging to the same family), a “co-worker” (labouring toward the same goal), and a “fellow soldier” (sharing the same trials). 

We can see the nature of Christ displayed in him, not just in his words but also in his actions towards one another. We can witness how much he has grown in his faith and is devoted to Christ, who is using him for his glory.

Last and the final observation about men like Epaphroditus was that they …

Are filled with zeal for the Kingdom of God 

Paul was a spiritual father to the Church of Philippi; in fact, he was the one who planted the Church. During that period, God was using Paul in unusual ways, whether he was free or in prison. He was an asset to the Kingdom of God. Paul’s ministry was quite a crucial one, and his survival was essential to the Church.

Just like many other churches, the Church of Philippi was indebted to Paul and his service to them. When they heard about Paul’s imprisonment, they knew he needed his family to stand by him, support him and encourage him so that he can continue doing ministry. And to do that they decided to send him a care package and lots of love through Epaphroditus.

I believe when Epapharaditus was chosen for the task, he knew what his actions would mean to the Church and Paul. He knew the significance of the moment and the impact his actions would make in the expansion of the Kingdom.

And even thought it was a risky operation where he could lose his life he still threw himself in it… because of his zeal for the Kingdom of God and for missions. In v30 Paul writes “for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.”

He could have stayed back and decided to continue with whatever career or business he was pursuing, he could have stayed back to be with his family and look after them. But at the right time, when the Church called him out, he chose a more significant task.

Epaphroditus was not just fully transformed by the Gospel and served in the Church in big and small ways, he was zealous for the Kingdom of God, was aware of the lostness around him and knew that he had to play his role in supporting and serving Paul as he was reaching out to the gentiles with the Gospel of Christ.

As a Christians, the very reason for which Christ came to this earth, died for our sins, redeemed us from sin and satan is for Kingdom extension. So that through our transformed lives, He would continue to reach out to the lost in the world. 

He did not save us just to be good people who go to Church every Sunday, get filled with a head knowledge, get married, bring up children, make lots of money and accumulate wealth and possession. 

He called us out to be used for his glory and extension of his Kingdom. Epaphroditus knew that and had dedicated his life for the task and had given himself to Christ and his mission.

Brothers & sisters, we may not be like Paul, Peter and other disciples & leaders, we may not be a gifted evangelist or a preacher or a teacher, but we all can become men like Ephaphraditus, men who are fully transformed by the power of the Gospel, men who are in love with Jesus, men who are committed, loved and approved by other fellow believers and men who are zealous for the Kingdom of God. As we continue to yield to Christ, he will continue to grow us and use us in ways beyond our imagination. 

We may look like the lowliest of people doing the lowliest of jobs for the Kingdom, but it is the least among us who are considered as greatest in the Kingdom.

And as Paul mentioned, we ought to rejoice over such men and honour them for their love, commitment & service for the Kingdom.

Epaphroditus is a perfect example of what God can do in and through the lives of simple people like us. And that is why we celebrate the Gospel, celebrate what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross of Calvary.

Categories
Philippians Sermon

Are we really Obedient? – Philippians 2:14-18

Last Sunday, we spoke about obedience, and obedience is a hard thing. 

To walk in obedience to God’s word in the culture and surrounding we live in is not that easy. At times we have to push ourselves to walk in obedience to God, but if we are not careful there is another tendency in us that is equally sinful than all other sins from which we are trying to run away.

While doing the right things, we also have a natural tendency to lean towards grumbling in our heart and/or arguing with others to prove our point or show others how superior we are.

Probably that’s the reason why Paul, immediately after talking about obedience, in verse 14 says “Do everything without grumbling or arguing”

Imagine pursuing holiness and purity by keeping away from adultery, fornication or pornography when everyone around us seems to be enjoying it without guilt or shame – in college, in offices, in our society. And when they see us taking a stance against such lifestyle, we are mocked and made fun of. 

In such scenarios, we can quickly get into a complaining mode with God when we treated badly for our righteous actions, saying why is it that they get to enjoy all the fleshly pleasures and not me. 

Or we can get into an arguing mode where we bring in our righteous SELF and start pointing fingers and correcting others, showing them how superior we are from them because we do everything right.

The same kind of attitudes also manifests in other situations. When we see people in the office do all the wrong things and yet are promoted to higher positions, when people adopt unethical ways to do business and make money for themselves.

Often when complaining, we forget that we are living amidst “the wicked & crooked people” of this world as pointed in verse 15. We cannot stop anyone, and we cannot change anyone. The only thing we can change is the way we look at our situation and react to it.

Brothers & sisters, complaining, grumbling & arguing is not the right way to do it & as I pointed out earlier is equally sinful as other sins.

Here are a couple of things to remember from our passage today that can help us in such scenarios.

What God thinks about us is more important than what people think.

V15a – “so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”

What Paul is saying is that when we obey God without complaining and disrupting in such manner, we present ourselves blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish.

Often, we are too worried about what others think about us, how others will treat us. And we forget that ultimately we all are accountable to God for the kind of lives we live on this earth. We are either living as children of God or as children of the devil; however, we chose to live will decide what our eternal destiny will be, whether heaven or hell.

What God is doing in us & through us is more glorious.

V15b – “Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.”

As we live holy and obedient lives without complaining and arguing, God is using us as shining stars in this dark generation. God’s ultimate goal is to save this wretched world from the hands of satan. He is saving the world through our obedience in Christ.

One day we will all die, and in our last days, all this wealth & pleasures will seem meaningless. And when we are in our death beds, the greatest joy in our hearts will be to cherish all the beautiful gifts God has given to us, whether our salvation, our family, our friends, the joy, and the peace.

Like how Paul puts it in verse16 “as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labour in vain.”

Another thing that can help us in our struggle is when we remember the high price Christ had to pay to set us free from Sin and death. While we were sinners, Christ died for us, paid the penalty of our sins on the cross of Calvary. Nothing we go through in life for living an obedience life can be compared to the shame, mocking, beating, insult our Lord Jesus had to go through. 

Our repentance and belief in the Gospel have given us this new life, and unlike what the world thinks, this new life is far more glorious than what the world has to offer us.

And finally …

We ought to rejoice and be glad as we walk in obedience to God’s commandments.

v18 – “So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.”

Paul ends this conversation in verse 18, saying “Rejoice & be glad”. But why do we rejoice?

We rejoice because we know that God is pleased with us. He is not pleased because of our obedience, he is pleased in the obedience of his son Jesus, who lived a fully obedience life on our behalf. He is pleased with us for excepting Christ as our saviour and Lord; he is pleased with us because of our love for Jesus.

We rejoice, because, greater is He that is in me then he that is in the world. 

We rejoice, in the fact that God, the creator of the universe, is using us as instruments in his hands for his glory. What is a privilege it is?

We rejoice, because, in the end, we will be rewarded for our love and obedience.

Therefore, brothers & sisters, let us continue to walk in obedience to God but without complaining and without arguing, which is an acceptable sacrifice unto our God.

Categories
Philippians Sermon

Joy in Brokenness – Philippians 2:5-11

This sermon is part of the series called ‘A Joy-filled Life’ and today’s topic is ‘Joy in Brokenness’. The Bible passage we will be looking at is Philippians 2:5-11.

If we are honest, we will all say that our hearts desperately yearn for a spiritual revival. I need one. For me, the last couple of weeks has been very rough, I’ve missed on my prayer & devotions, I’ve missed out on my scripture readings, and is feeling quite dry spiritually. 

There might be some of you who are maybe going through the same feelings as I am. To overcome such feelings, we are seeking a revival that will get us back on track with our relationship with our creator God.

Now, whatever may be our experience of failure and barrenness, God, the maker of heaven and earth is never defeated. His power is boundless. And we, on our part, have only to get into a right relationship with Him through His son Jesus Christ, and we shall see His power demonstrated in our hearts and lives and service, and victorious life will fill us and overflow through us to others. And that is Revival in its essence.

If, however, we are to come into this right relationship with Him, the first thing we must learn is that our wills must be broken to His will. To be broken is the beginning of Revival.

Psalms 51:17 – The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

It is painful, humiliating, but it is the only way. It is being “Not I, but Christ” (Gal 2:20), and a “C” is a bent “I.” The Lord Jesus cannot live in us fully and reveal Himself until the proud self within us is not broken.

What today’s passage offers is a perfect example of what it means to be broken to our self. We see our Lord Jesus, our Saviour and our redeemer, the King of king and the Lord of Lords, our champion & our hero, setting us a perfect example of what it means to be broken, contrite & humble – To have a posture and an attitude that will please our Father in heaven and set us in a right relationship with him.

This passage is a portion of a letter that was written by Paul to the churh in Philippians. And if you read the earlier chapter you will to know that the church is going through a turmoil in their relationship with one another. And often times when our relationship with another hits the rock, its a good indicator that our relationship with God is also not going well. Both are interconnected. And they needed a Revival to get sorted.

And therefore, in verse 5 Paul is saying to the church “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus”. He is telling the church to imitate Christ and his posture of humility that will help maintian right relationship with God the Father.

We can learn three lessons from Jesus, which can be applied in our current situation as we seek revival in our hearts.

Jesus gave up his status & position

V6. though he (Christ) was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped

Often times, what keeps us away from a healthy relationship with God is the SELF in us. This simply means that the hard unyielding self, which justifies itself, wants its own way, stands up for its rights, and seeks its own glory is the biggest hurdle in our heart.

It doesn’t want to bow its head to God’s will, doesn’t like to admit its wrong, doesn’t want to give up its own way to Jesus, doesn’t want to surrender its rights and doest want to discard its own glory.

It is so often the self who even tries to live the Christian life, do Christian work. It is always self who gets irritable and envious and resentful and critical and worried. It is self who is hard and unyielding in its attitudes to others. It is self who is shy and self-conscious and reserved. No wonder we need breaking. 

If we are honest, we can all see how much of this self there is in each of us.

As long as SELF is in control, God can do little with us, and therefore it has to be crucified.

It was the SELF that drew Adam and Eve to Sin against God. And when the SELF took over, darkness entered our hearts. The beautiful relationship we had with our creator God was broken. The whole human race is suffering the consequences of that fall.

But because of our fallen state, and because God so loved us, he sent His only Son Jesus to come to earth and live a life we ought to be living. 

And here’s what Paul is saying about how Christ lived among us – Even though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.

If there was one person on this earth who had the rights to follow his SELF then it was Jesus. He could have easily chosen to abandon us and leave us in our sinful state, and there will be no questions asked. But what we see is He willingly gave up his rights so that he can redeem us back to the Father.

In our lives, ultimately it is God who is bending our will to His, but there is an active part we also have to play without which the process is incomplete.

And Jesus has set a perfect example for us to follow.

Brothers & sisters, let’s examine our heart and identify the areas where our SELF is dominant. Do we always lean on our wisdom and strength to achieve the goals of our life? Or Is it the wealth and possessions we have that determines what we want to become? Or Are we acting stubborn with God saying – “This is the way I want to live my life, so please grant me my desire”, “This is the only kind of girl/boy I’d like to marry, so pls throw him/her from heaven”, “This is the only kind of job I would like to do”, “This is the only way I want to ministry.”

If thats true, then we have to crucify the SELF and its desires so that we can enjoy our relationship with the Father.

Jesus emptied himself by taking the form of a servant

The second lesson we learn from Jesus is that he not only gave up his rights, but he emptied himself and took the form of a servant. He came not to be served but to serve.

To be a servant is not just mere superficial servanthood we are talking about here. Often times this word is misinterpreted by our society, especially by the people in authorities. People in authority often project themselves are the servant of the people, we hear politicians say that, entrepreneurs say that. Thats not the servanthood Jesus showed us.

He literally washed the feet of his disciples. The Holy God of the universe stooped down to the unworthy, unholy, undeserving insects like us and washed our feet. 

When was the last time we served someone in this manner?

We don’t help our mother’s & wives at home. We think it’s the lowliest thing to do. It takes a lot of courage and dying to SELF to be able to serve others in this manner. It starts at home, then in Church and then to society at large.

Our act and attitude in serving others in this manner shows us how willing we are to be broken to our self so that we can draw near to God.

Jesus humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.

Jesus not only gave up his rights and took the form of a servant, but he also humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.

Jesus fully obeyed His Father in heaven, to the point, that to save us from the wrath of God, he took all our Sins, all our infirmities, and died in our place, paying the full penalty of our sins. 

The suffering wasn’t an easy one. In the Garden of Gethsamane, right before he was supposed to be taken away to be crucified, his cries out to God in prayer saying “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

His humility by becoming obedient to the point of death is what gives us the privilege to become sons and daughters of God, as we repent and put our faith in Jesus.

Can you imagine what would have happened to us if Jesus never fully obeyed His Father in heaven? Our lives would have been devastated.

What is our excuse for not walking in obedience to God’s word?

John 14:15,21,23-24

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

THAT IS WHAT BROKENNESS IS ALL ABOUT!

Brokenness is not God forcing us into the image of Christ, so that in spite of my desire to sin He causes me to do what is right anyhow. 

Asking God, “Lord, please make me a broken man!” is like praying, “God, please force me to love you!” God wants loving, obedient servants, not blindly obedient robots. He wants the willing, voluntary slave, not forced labor.

Many times, when in the midst of temptation, we would pray, “God, please help me!” (meaning, “God, please intervene and do something to prevent me from committing this sin!”)

God’s response over the years has been, “I already have helped you. Jesus died to set you free from bondage to sin. Go read Romans 6 again!”

We are without excuse! God is the sovereign Creator of the Universe – He gets to set the rules! It is my part to love and obey.

He commands, He expects love and obedience, but He also gives us encouragement, reminders, and the power of the Holy Spirit living in us to conquer the nature of sin that still plagues us!

Brother & sisters, if we are experiencing dryness in our heart & a detachment from God the Father this morning, it is not because God has kept a distance from us. It is because we are not letting our self die, not emptying ourself at the throne of God’s grace, unwilling to serve & not humble ourselves to the point of total obedience to God.

In Philippians 2:9-11 Paul continues to write

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Father not just delights in a broken and a contrite man but he also rewards them. Just like he exalted his son he will also exalt us and pour out his Spirit over us and fill our hearts an overflowing joy and peace..

And the greatest joy he offers us is the privilege to participate in the final celebration when Jesus will come back again. We all get to see Him, bow down to him and confess Jesus is Lord. What a Joy?

Brokenness is not a one-time thing. To have a continued communion with God, we need to have continued brokenness in our spirit at all times.

Brokenness is a good thing it directs our hearts to God.

Categories
Ephesians Sermon Unity

United in Heart (Session 1) – Ephesians 2:11-22

The theme of our Retreat for the next two days is the word UNITY: Oneness in Christ. 

The word ‘UNITY’ is a very familiar word to all of us. Probably some of you are already saying “I know all about Unity, I’ve been hearing this word since the time I was born”

But there is a possibility that even though we are familiar with the word ‘Unity’, we haven’t still understood it as we are supposed to, according to the scriptures.

And therefore, let’s keep our hearts and minds open and be willing to empty ourselves. Let’s keep aside all our preconceptions and allow God’s word and His Spirit to change us, in the direction of becoming more like Jesus.

Our country India is known to be a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country. We celebrate our diversity, and why shouldn’t we?

  • More than 1500+ languages are spoken in our country.
  • People of different religions viz. Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism etc. live together.
  • We have 29 states and seven union territories. Each of these states and union territories has its unique culture, traditions, food, dressing sense, belief systems.

Of course, we should be proud of ourselves. Here’s how our Prime minister Mr Narendra Modi proudly speaks about India, he says “Vividhita Main Ekta Hamare Desh ki Vishehta” (Unity in diversity is our country’s speciality)

But even though we celebrate Unity in diversity, the truth is, we are all divided in our hearts, one against another. And not in two or three pieces but hundreds and thousands of parts, probably as many cultural, languages & caste divisions that exist in our society.  

If we truly believe we are united, we wouldn’t have inequality amongst us, every citizen in our country would have had equal rights, equal opportunities, and most importantly, freedom to pursue their dreams.

But that’s not the case. Statistics says the top 10% of Indians owns 76.3% of the wealth in India. Do you think that is a fair distribution of wealth among the people who call themselves united?

If we were united, preferences in government offices, private companies, schools, colleges and other societies, wouldn’t be given based on caste, colour, education, wealth, gender, state background, language etc.

And therefore, even though we celebrate Unity in Diversity, we can see how our Indian society is divided. 

Unfortunately, we also get to see such discrimination in our so-called churches and Christian organizations.

Now, I don’t want to dwell too much on these differences and divisions but would like you to give some serious thoughts about it later.

Instead, I want to point our hearts to God’s word and show you what true UNITY is, why is it important and how can we genuinely experience UNITY in our hearts.

The passage I want to turn to is Ephesians 2:11-22

Alienated & divided because of Sin

Verse 11-12: Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 

In this passage, Paul is addressing a group of Jews & Gentiles who seem divided on the issue of circumcision. The Jews were saying, believing in Jesus is good, but to become a true believer, you also have to be circumcised. To which Paul confronts them saying that this is not what the true Gospel is. Instead, he is saying that it is only by Grace through Faith we are saved and not by our works. 

And as he is addressing the issue on circumcision and the division caused by it, he first reminds them all saying “you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

When God made us, in his image, he did not mean for us to live in disunity. In fact, the very purpose of Him creating us was to share the fellowship and unity that the triune God – God the Father, God the Son & God the HolySpirit had & enjoyed among themselves. 

God made man so that we would enjoy the same relationship with Him and with each other. But in our rebellion and selfishness when we chose to disobey him, his virtues & his good-intended laws, we broke that relationship with Him which also affected our relationship with each other. 

The first murder in the bible, the older brother Cain killing his younger brother Abel was the result of that Sin.

The first major split or a division happed because of Sin. Genesis 11:1-9 tells us the story of the Tower of Babel. 

Genesis 11:1-9: Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

It was Sin and sinful motives of sinful people that caused the first division.

Therefore, even in our Indian context, where we are talking about disunity and disharmony among people, let us all be aware that the real cause of it is Sin. 

It is because of Sin; we are in hostility – unfriendliness, opposed to one another, hatred towards our fellow brother & sister. And unless we deal with Sin, we are never going to experience true Unity in our heart and in this world. 

When the government talks about Unity, they do so to get votes and gain power. When organizations talk about Unity, they do so to sell their product & services. When various other entities talk about unity, they do so for their own personal benefits.

We see how Sin has taken deep roots in our society and culture that even though when we talk about Unity in diversity, it is to take advantage of each other for selfish gains. In our Sin, we are living like animals where the Law of the Jungle is ‘Survival of the fittest’, where nobody wants to know the truth when it is only the Truth that can set us free from this bondage and misery, and allow us to live in Freedom and Peace.

And what is the Truth? 

United through Christ

Ephesians 2:13-22: But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 2In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

When we hear the account of Jesus and what he has accomplished for us on the cross, we realize that God’s ultimate purpose is to bring us back to himself and to one another, as one man, one bride as per the original design.

In our Sin, we were far away from God, but now we have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.

We may think as if God is doing all this for us, for our well being. Yes, of course, that is true but the greater truth is that He is doing all this for Himself, to restore back that which was broken because of our disobedience and failure and to bring the order of creation, that which He intended while he was creating us.

Therefore, Unity is not just something that we need as a society to bring back order in our lives but it is primarily God’s agenda for restoring back what was lost. Through the sacrifice of His son Jesus, God is uniting his people for the big day of his return, his rule and his dominion on this earth. Satan will be defeated forever and we will be united to Christ in a grand marriage celebration.

Either we are in it & for it or we are not in it & not for it.

Brothers & sisters, as we talk more about Unity, the agenda is not to manipulate you into something we want to build for ourselves. It is not about the Gathering church and our small little community, but it is about the Kingdom of God. It is about the greater goal that is far beyond ourselves and our identity and comfort on this earth. It is about God.

This is not some new kind of lifestyle we are calling you but this is the ultimate purpose for which we are being created. 

Therefore, when the Gospel is truly understood and applied in our lives, every circumstance, every faulty mindset, every faulty cultural belief, every broken relationship, it should bring peace, joy and restoration that ultimately unites our hearts to Christ and to one another.

Without Christ, Unity has no purpose.

Without Christ, Unity has no meaning,

Without Christ, Unity is not possible.

In some way or the other, we have all fallen prey to the schemes of the enemy and have separated ourselves from receiving and experiencing the grace of God.

We have failed to surrender our lives to God for the sake of unity with Him, we have allowed our sinful hearts to take over our choices, our decisions, our affections, & our emotions.

There is no one who can say that he or she is perfect before God, and therefore as we’ve heard God speak to us and if He has convicted us of our sins, our response should be repentance and faith, surrender and commitment to the Gospel. 

Group Discussion Questions:

Q1. What are some specific areas in your life where you are currently experiencing disunity with God?

Q2. What are some specific areas in your life where you are currently experiencing disunity with one another?

Q3. What are some cultural, traditional, emotional, political or sentimental reasons that hold you back from seeking unity with God and with one another?

Q4. How do you think the Gospel addresses your specific reasons for not seeking or pursuing unity with God & with others?

Categories
Ephesians Sermon Unity

Unity in Purpose (Session 3)- Ephesians 3:1-13

I was extremely touched and moved as I was preparing for these sessions on the topic of Unity. It makes perfect sense to me now on why our unity, our togetherness, our fellowship and community matters to God.

The Gospel is a mystery, and as we dedicate our lives to learn, discover and live out the Gospel we realise that there are so many facets to it that we still haven’t uncovered a large chunk of it. We will only understand it fully when we will meet our Lord in heaven.

The Gospel transforms us into a new being every single day, it demolishes the lies that have been spoken to us through generations, it destroys all the ungodly patterns of the world that has manipulated our hearts and minds, it breaks all the bondages that have held us down from living in freedom.

And it gives us a new outlook towards life, new meaning to our existence, new purpose to pursue, peace in our relationships, joy in our inner being.

Unity in our heart – unity with God and unity with one another is one such facet that I believe stands at the core of our Christian belief. Without true unity we are aimless, useless, powerless and our life is meaningless. 

And therefore, Unity matters.

In the last two sessions, we learnt what true unity is and how should it look like amongst the redeemed children of God, who are called by his name for his glory.

In this session, we will learn and discover why and how God uses our unity with Him and with one another for His Glory. The passage we will be looking into is Ephesians 3:1-13

READ

In these passages we see Paul as he is referring to the Gospel is using the word mystery, he says in verse 3 ‘the mystery was made known to me by revelation’, verse 4 he refers to the mystery as ‘the mystery of Christ’. 

In verse 6 he reveals that the mystery is ‘that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.’

The believing Jews in those days claimed and believed that only they were the lucky ones to whom the God of the universe chose to revealed himself, and only the sons and daughters that were born from the lineage of Abraham, Issac and Jacob were the true recipients of the grace of God that was revealed through his son Jesus Christ.

And Paul, though he was a Jew, in these passages is claiming to have received the mystery of Christ through revelation that, it is not just Jews who are called to be partakers of Gods grace, but also the gentiles, the entire human race who are not a direct descendant of Abraham.

He is saying that they too are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. And in saying that he also referring to everyone who is sitting here in this room. None of us sitting in this room come from the bloodline of Abraham. It was because of the mystery of the Gospel revealed to Paul that started a movement which spread like a wildfire and even reached India through Apostle Thomas.

What does this tell us?

This tells us that God is on a mission, mission to save and redeem his called ones from across all nation, tribe and tongue, who will all one day stand before him in glory and worship him in spirit and in truth.

But we also see a pattern in his pursuit to accomplish this task. He first revealed himself to a certain nation and a certain people group, and as he proclaims the good news of the Kingdom of God to them, calling them to repentance and belief through the life, death and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ. Uniting their hearts to himself and to one another by the power of the Holy Spirit, he then uses their lives, their communities to then reach out to the nations. 

Jesus says to them in John 13:34-35 “34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

It is God’s perfect plan to unite our hearts to Him and with each other, but we also see the larger picture where God uses our unity and love for Him and for each other to call more like us into his Kingdom.

At this point, I want to introduce you to two words that will help us see our placement in God’s grand plan of calling and saving the nations to himself.

The two words are micro-community & macro-community.

Micro community is the smaller group of like-minded people, people who share the same belief, same values, same goals, same pursuit – In our case, it is our faith communities – people who identify themselves are children of God, redeemed by the blood of Christ.

For eg. My micro-communities are firstly, my immediate family (wife & children), my extended family members who share in the same faith, my church family, our homeschooling community of Christian parents, my other smaller circle of Christian friends with whom I share life.

Macro community is the larger group of people, who are also part of our lives. Who may not be like us, or may not believe the things we believe, may not have the same values as we have – people group who are yet to know the truth of the Gospel.

For eg. My macro-community are my colleagues in my office, family members who are not yet believers, friends from my college with whom I occasionally hang out, larger group of homeschooling community that consists of people from all faith and religion, people in my neighbourhood/society.

In the book ‘Church turned inside out’ by Linda & Allan, they write 

“God has placed us in both these communities for his glory, and disregarding or failing to take advantage of God’s design to place us in meaningful communities of relationships (both micro & macro) can result in living an uninspired and isolated existence, never fully entering into what Christ intended for us, and failing to discover the incarnational lifestyle of Christ” 

Jesus, fully satisfied with his micro-community with Father and the Holy Spirit left his heavenly glorify to preach and pursue the macro-community of foolish, arrogant, sinful people like us to restore us back into our real family.

As Paul is now fully integrated and nourished by his micro-community of Jesus followers continues to write “Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in[b] God, who created all things,10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord”

Paul, even though fully content in Jesus and the community of believers, realises that God has a greater plan and purpose for his life, that extents out of his micro-community and reaches out to his macro community.

Brother & sisters, this togetherness we enjoy is good, is nourishment for us, is life-giving. This is a very important aspect of our Christian growth, and therefore we shouldn’t ignore this coming together. It has to be pursued whole-heartedly and with 100% commitment.

Therefore, coming regularly to church service & on time, worshipping as a family of believers, feeding on Gods word and fellowshipping is important. Healthy marriages are important, God honouring parenting is important, Christian friendships are important. But once we are fully nourished, satisfied and healthy we also have to reach out for the greater goal, and that is influencing our macro community, reaching out to the ungodly and unsaved people whom God has placed in our lives.

Sadly, there are many Christians who don’t value communities and lead lonely lives, they seem passionate to do Christian work and Christian ministries but hardly see them doing life with another believer, just as Jinson shared with us.

And some Christians believe that they have to isolate themselves from the world, they regularly come to church, sing songs, read the Bible, but feel safe to stay away from their macro community for various reasons. They might not be comfortable going for a party with their friends, walk into the bar, hang out, invite them home, go to their home. As Allan & Linda says “disregarding or failing to take advantage of God’s design to place us in meaningful communities of relationships (both micro & macro) can result in living an uninspired and isolated existence, never fully entering into what Christ intended for us, and failing to discover the incarnational lifestyle of Christ”

I don’t believe that’s a bible way of living a purpose-driven life.

Jesus was found sitting with drunkards, adulterers, tax collectors, prostitutes, and if we think we are not like them, we are good people, then I would say we are the filthiest, self-righteous, dirty pigs as well, no better then those with whom Jesus fellowshipped. But he came for us, and he saved us. Washed away our filthiness and presents us perfect before His father in heaven.

As Christians, we are on a mission, and we have to live it out faithfully.

Here are some ways in which we should participate in Gods mission as we enjoy Unity with God and with each other:

  1. Allowing our micro-community to influence our macro community – When people see the way we love & cherish our wives, the way we bring up our children, the joy-filled community lives we live among our brethren should stand out and speak for itself.
  2. Inviting them into our micro-community so they can experience God’s love and providence in our lives and ask questions about our faith.
  3. Watchfully using our freedom in Christ to be able to put ourselves in their context, making friendships, loving them, caring for them. Not feeling fearful or show reservation in going out with them on a party, walking into a club or bar if necessary, etc
  4. Finally, and most importantly, as Paul writes in verse 8 “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,” – Faithfully preaching and sharing the Gospel with them.

Unity is Gods agenda to join our hearts to Him and to one another in communities for the purpose of reaching out to a wider audience. Let’s not miss it.

Let’s pray.

Group discussion Questions:

  1. Is there anything specific that God spoke to you this session? What was that?
  2. What are your micro & macro communities Gods has placed you in? Name them?
  3. Where do you see yourself failing in committing to your micro-communities?
  4. How do you think God wants to use you in your macro communities?
Categories
Philippians Sermon

The Secret of Joy and Hope in Christ – Philippians 1:19-26

The passage we will study is Philippians 1:19-26.

Last week Jinson helped us understand the circumstances under which Paul was writing this letter to the church in Philippi. We learnt that Paul was imprisoned for his faith in Christ and for sharing the Gospel, he was suffering and going through hardships for the sake of Christ as he is waiting for justice.

The man didn’t harm anyone but was still convicted and was going through extreme pain and anguish. And even in such harsh circumstances, at the end of verse 18 he says “Yes, I will rejoice”.

In Philippians 1:19 we see he is so full of hope, confident that he will never be ashamed, and that at the end, Christ will be honoured in his body, whether he is alive or dead, there is absolutely no fear or doubt in his mind, fully prepared even to die.

I’ve met a lot of people in my life who go through tough circumstances and some even going through hardships right now, some due to sickness in their body, some because of pressure at work, some because of unfavourable conditions where people have taken advantage of them, hard life, abuse, cheated close family etc. But it is scarce to hear people use such words of hope and confidence as Paul is expressing here.

Most people in such circumstances go into depression and sorrow and end up blaming God or blaming others for their circumstances.

And therefore, I find Paul’s confidence and hope so amazing. And I’m sure a lot of people would desire that they would also live a fearless life just like Paul with faith and hope, responding in the same manner when facing hardships.

As easy as it sounds, I realized that this kind of response is not something a person can manufacture it. We can say these words with our mouth, but our hearts can be all messed up.

Here are some of the advice people commonly give to us when we are facing hardships.

  • They ask us to do Positive thinking
  • Get drunk and forget your sorrows
  • Indulge in fleshly pleasures, and you forget all the worries in life
  • Some religious folks will ask you to repeat prayers and mantras to attain peace
  • Leave the world and go on a pilgrimage
  • Some will advise you to intake drugs

But as we all know these solutions only give us temporary relief and joy, once the effect is over, we all go back to the same feelings of sadness, loneliness, depression etc.

And as we continue to read Paul’s letter, who is a follower of Christ we realize that there is something deeper that’s going on in his heart because of which he can respond the way he is responding. He is not drunk, or even hallucinating but is speaking from a clear conscience and a steady mind.

What we learn in these passages is Paul’s outlook towards life itself that is helping him rejoice and stay hopeful in all circumstances.

Every situation in our life is ultimately about survival and death. The best thing about life is staying alive, and the worst thing is to die and leave this earth.

Some enjoy their present life but dread the thought of death, and others hate their life so much that they want to kill themselves because they want to get rid of all their earthly sorrows and misery.

Paul seems to be fully prepared and satisfied in both these scenarios. He says “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”.

Paul, a Christian, looks at both life and death and finds both of them fascinating and joy-filled. In fact, he says it is difficult for me to choose which one is better. 

22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

Today I want to focus on Paul’s statement ‘to live is Christ, and to die is gain’ and discover what did he mean when he said that.

Paul was not always a hopeful and fearless person as he is at this moment in life. He worked for the Roman empire and was recruited to find and kill all followers of Jesus. But his life changed when he was travelling on the road Damascus as he was looking for Christians in the other town, Jesus appeared to him and opened his heart and mind to see and understand the truth about life and death.

Friends, there is a reason why we live in brokenness and despair. The world we live in was not meant to be corrupt, sinful, dark, selfish and full of hatred. It was supposed to be a beautiful place. The Bible says, when God made the world, animals & birds, mountains and trees, lakes and rivers, and human beings, it was pleasing in his eyes. Man lived in perfect harmony with God and with nature. And everything God made was meant to exalt him and glorify him.

And when God made man and woman, he gave us a unique gift, and the gift was the free-will to choose between good and evil. And He gave it to us so that willingly and out of own choice, we would worship Him and honour Him, the one who created us in His likeness and His image.

But, we misused our free-will and are still misusing it daily.

But instead of using our fill-will to choose Him and worship Him, we ended up choosing ourselves and pursuing our selfish desires by disobeying his holy laws and commandment. If the world is broken and dark, it is not because God made it that way; it is because we chose to make it that way. And when our fore-father and mother, Adam and Eve disobeyed God, it affected all of us.

It’s like a baby in a mother’s womb. If the mother, while carrying a child in her womb, chose to intake drugs or any poison, it automatically affects the baby who is in her. Babies who are born to drug addict mother are called broken babies because they end up having some deformity in the body when they are born.

When Adam and Eve sinned, we were in them, as the baby in a mothers womb, and therefore we too committed the hideous crime against our creator God, which is why our relationship with God is broken. And according to God Holy law, the punishment for sin and rebelliousness against him is only death.

We lost our peace and joy. The peace and joy people in this world are seeking by doing good works, going on a pilgrimage, beating themselves up, chasing the world and its pleasure like a crazy man will never pay for the penalty of our sin we have committed against God.

But the good news is, about which Paul who encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus writes in Romans 5:6-11

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

On the road to Damascus, when Paul met with Jesus, he realized the one whom he hated was Christ, the Son of God, who paid the penalty of his sins by dying on the cross, who rose again on the third day and is now sitting at the right hand of God and is interceding for us,  who is the only one through whom he can achieve salvation, through whom he can be restored into a relationship with God the creator and not end up in hell but enter heaven.

And to attain this salvation, all he had to do was repent of his sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, with all his heart, mind and soul.

And therefore, for Paul to say ‘to live is Christ is to live a completely restored and free life, one without condemnation, without fear of death, with full of hope and joy. And for him to say ‘death is gain’ is because he knew his end would be glorious, in heaven, he will ultimately meet Christ and spend his eternity in heaven. And he is not able to decide which is better.

The extent of his joy and gratefulness was so large that he saw everything else in the world rubbish in comparison to Christ. In Philippians 3:7-8

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Friends, it is one thing to say we know about Christ and it’s a totally another thing to say we’ve experienced Christ and His saving power in our lives.

A person who has genuinely experienced Christ and His love, who has understood this glorious Gospel, he is a changed man. The Bible says when we sincerely repent of our sins and believe in Jesus, our old self dies with him and we are born again.

And the person who is genuinely born again treasures Christ more than all the things and the pleasure of this world because he is convinced that in Christ he has found everything his soul needs.

A person who is truly a believer in Christ lives in freedom, has hope in heart that no matter what happens in life, whether hardships or calamities or sickness or pain, he believes everything will ultimately work out for his good, and that Christ will be glorified in his body, whether in life or in death.

If we say we are Christians and even after years, we are still not experiencing freedom and joy in life. If we are not fully treasuring Christ more than the worldly things and its pleasure. If we are living hopeless lives falling back into depression and feelings of loneliness. If we are still living as our old self, we have to question our faith.

It’s time that we turn to Christ, not just in our mind, in our knowledge but our heart and our whole being. All you have to do is repent of your sin and put your faith in Jesus.

To be a Christian doesn’t mean that you are born in a Christian family. To be a Christian doesn’t mean that we are coming to church every Sunday. To be a Christian doesn’t mean we know all the Christian songs. To be a Christian doesn’t mean we know the Bible.

To be a Christian means to experience Christ and his life-transforming power in our daily life. Please do not be fooled. Don’t just be satisfied that you know about Jesus but seek to experience him and his saving grace in your life on a daily basis.

If you think you are that person that claims to know Jesus but haven’t experienced his life-transforming power in your life, you may want to consider committing or maybe re-commit your Life to Christ today.

Feel free to reach out to us if you wish to speak to one of us. We would love to hear from you and pray with you.