Author: Saju Joseph

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This sermon is from a series called “Living out our Identity in Christ”.

In today’s sermon, we will look into another aspect of our Identity which is equally important as others and the verses we will be looking at is 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.

But before we look into the final aspect of our Identity, let us take some time out and review what we’ve learned so far in this series.

I believe there is nothing more important than the subject of who we are because of who He is.

Understanding our identity in Christ will allow us to see our lives in the right perspective just as God intended it to be, making much of each moment.

In general, most people living in this world are absolutely unaware of their identity – where they came from, who made them, what is the purpose of their lives, etc.

And because people are unaware of their identity, they live as men who blindly following the traditions and cultures of this world passed on to them from one generation to another generation.

Our lives have become just like the 5 monkeys shown in the illustration below.

We are living our lives but not as God intended it to be, not according to the purpose for which God created us.

We do what we’re asked to do, we act as we are taught to act, we believe the things we’re asked to believe.

Because of which we’ve created limitations in life based on what we’ve learned from our ancestors and fail to seek the truth.

In the same way, when we become Christians we don’t stop there but go on to discover who we really are because of who God is. And as we discover these truths, we learn to live the way God originally designed us.

Therefore, if some of you have not been able to soak yourselves in the truth about your identity that has been shared so far, I urge to reflect on it again and allow these truths to change the way you think and live.

In Ephesians 1:18 Paul writes “..having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.”

Here are the sermon notes from the same series:

• Living out our Chosen and Adopted Identity in Christ
• Accepted, Loved & Forgiven Children of God
• Living out our lives as Citizens of God’s Kingdom
• Living out our lives as New Creation in Christ

In today’s sermon, we will look into another important aspect of our Identity which is the outward manifestation of the inward change that happens in our heart.

We will learn how to experience true joy, fulfilment and freedom as we live our lives based on our identity.

Lets read 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

The final aspect of our Identity is that we are “Ambassadors for Christ”.

1. Chosen by the King

So during the time of the Roman rule, an ambassador was a respected official acting as a representative of a nation. Posted in a foreign land, the ambassador’s role was to reflect the official position of the sovereign body that gave him authority. Therefore, an ambassador was directly appointed by the King, not voted into position.

This is perfect in the sense that we too are chosen by God through Christ before the foundations of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight,  and now accepted, loved and forgiven.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, chosen and saved so that we become representatives of God in this earth – Entrusted with the message of reconciliation.

What a great privilege it is – to be called ambassadors of God!  To know that God reached out to unworthy people like us, unimaginably below the standards of God’s Holiness is simply extraordinary.

2. Committed only to the State’s interests

Once an ambassador, that person’s commitment, desire, goals, dreams and loyalty was only to the King.

We need to understand that to be an ambassador for God is a high calling. The day we decide to turn away from our sins and believe in the gospel, our hearts desires change, our dreams change, our goals change.

We fall in love with the King who chose and adopted us and who loved us in our worthlessness. As we seek him daily, listen to his voice through his word, allow his words to convicts us of our sins, continue to put our faith in the Gospel – we experience unspeakable joy in our hearts.

I’ve experienced it myself – When I abide in Him daily I see the fruit of it manifested through my conduct, speech and attitude while I’m at work. I don’t have to put an extra effort to represent Christ in my workplace.

But when I fail to abide in him, I don’t see much fruit in my life at work.

Therefore, as an Ambassador, seek him daily, allow him to change your dreams, your desires and make you passionate for something greater, greater than all your earthly pursuits – enabling you to experience things that eyes have not see, ears have not heard nor has anyone ever imagined

3. Full Support from the King

The Ambassador gets full support from his King for the task assigned to him – whether the provision, resources, encouragement,  military support etc, the same way that our God has provided for us – The HOLY SPIRIT, our helper.

In John 14:15-17 Jesus said

 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Through the Holy Spirit, he has equipped us to do even greater things than Jesus did.

 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. – John 14:12-14

The Holy Spirit is given to us to convict our hearts of sin (John 16:7-11), as a counsellor (John 14:16), a guide (John 16:13) and to bring Glory to Christ in and through our lives (John 16:14).

What a wonderful God we serve.

Therefore, our dependence should be on God and the Holy Spirit whom he has given us to represent Him as His Ambassadors.

As I conclude, I believe that through these series you have gained a better understanding of your true Identity and pray that will change the way you live, talk, behave, love, accept, forgive and to know that at the end of your life, you have run the race well.

 

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Today’s preaching is from a series called “Living out our Identity in Christ”.

When people talk about Identity, from a worldly standpoint, what they’re trying to achieve is to obtain a right perspective about themselves and life in general. When they acquire the proper perspective, then that becomes their Identity for Life.

Most men in the world prefer living their lives like blind men – do what’s been asked to do, say what’s been asked to speak, believe what’s been asked to think – Commonly known as blind faith.

When I ask my colleagues in the office why they fast on particular days or follow Shravan, a festive season where they refrain from eating non-veg food, The typical answer I get is “I don’t know, I do it because my parents asked me to do it.”

About these group of men Oscar Wilde, the famous poet and playwriter said “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”

But we also have some great and genius thinkers and philosophers who’ve tried questioning these blind faiths and have come up with their new perspective on life which they believed to be true and then built their Identity based on their view.

Buddha, born 480BC, the founder of Buddhism, after cutting himself off from the Hindu ritualistic belief system came up with his conclusion about life, He said “To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s mind. If a man can control his mind, he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.”

And to achieve that level of control, he decided to abstain himself from the world and its desires and live in lonely places to discover his self, which eventually became another religion.

In Hinduism it is believed that man takes multiple births through incarnation until his soul finds rest (or moksha), Buddha thought that by self-discovery and good virtue a man could stop the cycle of incarnation forever and attain nirvana (freedom from the cycle of rebirth). But how can we even know that his perfect life was good enough for him to help him achieving true moksha (or salvation)? There is no way.

And likewise, many others have their unique perspective on life upon which they built their lives.

For example :

• Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
• Live life to the fullest and focus on the positive
• Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive
• It’s all about quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and friends and family.
• Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.
• Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life

In the midst of all these human perspectives, we have the Bible, the very words of creator God who is author of life itself in all forms, which I believe has the answer to all human quest, giving us the most accurate perspective of ourselves, about God and the world around us, also helping us define our true Identity.

Like for example, it is only the Bible that gives us an accurate picture of our human condition and shows us how incapable we are to do good and never sin. “None is righteous, no, not even one” – Romans 3:10

No matter how hard we try we can never get rid of our sinful nature by ourselves, no good works, no control over mind, no positive thinking can save us from our sinful self. Only God can.

Last Sunday Jinson reminded us our identity as one Chosen and Adopted by God, but he also helped us see how that translates into right living.

To know that In Christ, God chose us before the foundations of this world as holy and blameless in his sight and not based on the merits we earn for ourselves on this earth should translate into living humble lives in the sight of men & God, entirely depending on his mercy and grace.

To know that we are adopted into God’s family as sons and daughters through the sacrifice of his beloved son Jesus help us live responsibly by refraining from sin and other temptations.

Similarly today we will look at our Identity as one Accepted, Loved and Forgiven by God. And brothers and sisters, let me remind you that it is not enough for us to gain such knowledge and do nothing about it.

What we will learn today about ourselves is not a human perspective but a godly perspective.

We have to allow this knowledge to transform our thinking and help us live exemplary lives based on our true Identity so that the world can see what true transformation looks like and affirm to the fact that Christ is the only way, truth and Life.

I wish Buddha had the opportunity to see this godly perspective and to base his life on this Identity; there wouldn’t have been another religion.

1. We are Accepted

Galatians 3:27-28 – “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

All human quest will end when we eventually meet our creator God. There are only two eternal destinies a man can attain – eternal hell or eternal heaven.

The children of God whom He chose in Christ before the foundations of the world, the ones who responded to his call, put their faith in Jesus and his finished work on the cross for the penalty of our sins.

Our destiny is the Eternal Heaven, a place where God dwells.

And the most beautiful and liberating truth is that our acceptance in God is not based on whether we are male or female, slave or free, Jew or Gentile.

We don’t have to be a Brahmin, or Shatriya, or a Shudra to have special favours with God. It doesn’t depend on the colour or our skin or the background of our people.

You don’t have to be a Malayalee or a Tamilian or a Punjabi for God to accept you. He has received us in his son Jesus JUST THE WAY WE ARE.

We don’t have to be disconnected from the world, live in lonely places, torture our bodies, seek self-discovery for God to accept us.

The only basis of God’s acceptance is our faith in his son Jesus – who has broken every diving wall amongst us and has united our hearts for His Glory.

And therefore our response to this knowledge should be Romans 15:7 – “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

Let us also not look and judge one another as the world does – based on colour, creed, language, seniority, wealth, health etc. Imagine how beautiful the world will be if we can accept other human beings just the way God accepts us.

2. We are Loved

Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved.

The world is craving for love. It’s like we’re born with an empty box in our soul that craves for love. When we are children we crave for love from our parents, when we are adults we crave for love from other humans.

And no matter how much love we may or may not experience in this life, that empty box was purposely created by God which only he can fill; only he can satisfy.

A famous author once quoted ” “What we all want, really, is to be loved. That craving drives our worst behavior.”

God’s love is so beautiful – Because of his great love, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.

Paul writes in Romans 8:38-39 ” For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Our faithful response to this great love Jesus says in John 13:34 ” 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.”

3. We are Forgiven

Ephesians 1:7 – “In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace”

The other day a brother told me that almost everyone on the street of Mumbai looks like they are angry with someone. Parents are mad at their children, children are mad at their parents, bosses are mad at their employees, employees angry with their bosses, neighbors angry with each other, car owners angry with the rickshaw drivers, the rickshaw driver angry with the buses, the bus driver angry with the people on the street, people on the street angry with the government .. so on and so forth.

Forgiveness is the last thing on anybody’s mind.

Above all needs of human beings the greatest one is for us to seek forgiveness from God for our sins, our rebellion against the creator God.

And Ephesians 1:7 tells us that because of God’s grace and redemption displayed through Jesus blood he has forgiven us of all our sins – past, present and future.

His forgiveness towards us not a one-time affair but he continues to forgive us as often as we go to him, confess and repent of our sins. I think that’s the most refreshing thing to me as a Christian that I can anytime go to God and fall on his feet and plead for forgiveness and he will forgive me.

Our response to God’s Forgiveness is to forgive others just as he has forgiven us.

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” – Colossians 3:13

I don’t know how often you sit down and count your spiritual blessings especially the identity you have received through Christ, of been accepted, loved and forgiven.

It is such a privilege to be called children of God and live our new Identity in Christ. Let us also be faithful in living out our new identity by accepting, loving and forgiving others, living our exemplary lives that honor our Father in heaven.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/Knowing-Christ-protecting-our-hearts-from-conforming-to-human-standards-Mark-2-18-22.mp3″]

We are continuing with our passage from Mark and today we will look at chapter 2:23-28.

One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Just like the issue with the fasting that we looked at last week, again in this passage we see how the Pharisees try to impose their way of interpreting the commandment regarding Sabbath.

Here we see … On the day of Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain (probably because they were hungry and wanted to eat) and the Pharisees asked Jesus “Why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

This nagging attitude of the Pharisee started from Mark 2 when Jesus heals the paralytic man who was brought by his friends and Jesus heals him by saying your sins are forgiven… to which the Pharisees comment by saying who is this guy who can forgive sins.

Followed by Jesus’s visit to Levi the tax collectors (a sinner) house… to which the Pharisees accuse him of eating with sinners.

Followed by their question regarding fasting which we saw last week.

Can you for a moment feel the tension in the atmosphere? Where Jesus and the Pharisees are head-butting with each other.

Firstly, it is so irritating to have these Pharisees follow Jesus and keep pointing fingers at everything that is said and done.

In the corporate world, it’s like the boss or his men sitting over our head to make sure that we don’t break the rules, the culture and the traditions laid down by the management.

Isn’t that such an irritating thing?

Secondly, Jesus is constantly trying to explain to these Pharisees and even help them see HIM as the fulfillment of the promise made by God through his prophets. And instead of responding with reverence they choose to ignore him because of their pride, ego, and position in the society.

Even this time with the issue of Sabbath Jesus points them to David saying “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”

Jesus is pointing to an incident that was written by Samuel in 1 Samuel 21:5-6 where David was running from Saul who was the King of Israel at that time and wanted to kill him. David and his men enter the temple hungry, but because there was no bread to eat except for the bread that was offered to God which only the priests were allowed to eat, David and his men ate that bread and carried on with their journey to a place called Gath.

Jesus talks about David to remind them that even after eating the holy bread from the presence of God which was unlawful to do, God didn’t punish them, like in the case of the prophet Aarons sons Nadab & Abihu who were struck dead for bringing an unauthorized fire before the Lord.

Jesus then goes on to make a point regarding Sabbath and says “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

You see, the Sabbath was not supposed to be considered as a ritual or tradition that supersedes human needs. Sabbath is, in fact, a gift from God and sadly it has become a bondage & oppression, been manipulated from its right intentions that were meant for man’s good.

If we read the context of Sabbath, we will know that it was given to bring rest, healing & joy. But in the case of the Pharisees they created their own version and dictated people to follow them as traditions and rules, but completely missed the point. And here’s what they failed to see.

• They failed to see God’s love and care for his people in the commands and laws he gave them.
• They failed to see Jesus as the lord over Sabbath – Who himself was God in the form of a man standing right next to them.

Instead of recognizing Christ the savior who came to make everything new, they mistreated him, questioned his intentions and even called him an agent of the devil.

At this point, it is easier for us to look at the Pharisees and say how wicked and manipulative these guys were and completely ignorant to see the Pharisee in us who behaves just like them and sometimes even worse.

You may ask how are we like the Pharisees.

There are a number of ways in which we carry the attitude of a Pharisee –

Firstly, when we fail to see the commandments of God as a delight and instead look at it as a burdensome rulebook that needs to be kept to gain approval from God like the Pharisees did.

Burdening ourselves and others in a way distorting the original intent of God when he gave it to us.

Instead of confessing like David in

• Psalms 119:103: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”,
• Psalms 119:130: “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”
• Psalms 139:6: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand”
• Psalms 119:9-16:
  How can a young man keep his way pure?
  By guarding it according to your word.
  10 With my whole heart I seek you;
  let me not wander from your commandments!
  11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
  that I might not sin against you.
  12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
  teach me your statutes!
  13 With my lips I declare
  all the rules[c] of your mouth.
  14 In the way of your testimonies I delight
  as much as in all riches.
  15 I will meditate on your precepts
  and fix my eyes on your ways.
  16 I will delight in your statutes;
  I will not forget your word.

Instead of looking at the beauty of God’s heart towards us in his precepts … we see it as burdensome and task oriented. To the extent where now some of us have even given up reading our bibles because we think it is hard to keep up with obedience when the Spirit of God convicts us of our sins through the scriptures.

On the other extreme, there are some who to follow the law to the dot as it is written without experiencing a true heart transformation which only Christ and his sacrifice on the cross offers.

Let’s ask ourselves this morning – What is our attitude when it comes to God’s holy laws and commandments in the Scripture?

• Do we see that God’s desire for us to a live Sanctified life by living in obedience to his commandments is meant for our own good?
• Do we see them as instructions given to us, to follow wholeheartedly with joy & delight and not under pressure & fear?
• Do we see the wonderful promises associated with true heart transforming obedience?

  The one promise that comes to my mind is Psalms 1:2-3 which says “Blessed are those who delight in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by the streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers”

Remember also that, our law-keeping has nothing to do with our salvation and gaining approval from God. God approves simply because of our faith in his son Jesus.

Trying to gain approval from God by our self-righteous acts are seen as filthy rages by God.

We receive approval from God not by our law-keeping or good works but by admitting that we are sinners just as the bible describes every human being to be, and by believing in Jesus, the son of God who came down to earth for our sake, lived a righteous life on our behalf, took the punishment that was upon us, suffered a horrible death on the cross to redeem us from the wrath of a holy God.

Rising up from death after three days he proved to the world that he is God indeed and has won victory our sin and broken the chains of slavery to sin and has set us free forever.

All because he loved us and meant everything for our good from the beginning – Even the laws, the commandments, instructions from the scriptures, leading of the Holy Spirit convicting our hearts of sin that needs to be dealt with.

All of his precepts are the evidence of his loving pursuit of our hearts meant for his Glory.

So, let us not be like the Pharisees who failed to see God’s heart of love in passing on his commandments and let us stop treating his words as a rule-book that’s burdensome and heavy. But instead delight in them, know the heart of God and walk in obedience persuaded by his love.

The second way in which we behave like the Pharisees is when we judge others like the Pharisees did. Judging others for their words, actions, and attitudes just because we think we’re doing it right, and fail to see them through the merciful eyes of God.

The perfect example is the ender brother in the story of the prodigal son. He failed to understand his Father’s heart of love, even though the younger son rebelled and went away with the Father’s wealth and misused them for his own pleasures, the Father still loved him.

Romans 5:8, Paul reminds “While we were sinners

(the time when we hated him, the time when we were committing adultery or fornicating with the opposite sex and even with the same sex, while we were indulged in watching sinful pornography, while we will expressing our hate towards another human by robbing and killing them, while we were high on alcohol and drugs, while we were worshipping idols made of mud, worshipping animals & birds and defaming God)

…Paul says God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for our sins for which we deserved the punishment but Christ took it upon himself.

What right do we have to look down and judge others?

The Pharisee like attitude shows up in subtle ways in our case and we take it lightly. Here are some of the things we say that show the Pharisee-like attitude in us.

“If He Knew The Bible As Well As I Did, His Life Would Be Better.”

Judgement and self-righteousness rolled up in a neat little package

“I follow the rules and that is what makes me a true Christian”

Instead of humility, we carry an air of being a rule keeping Christian, isn’t our attitude be one of gratitude, amazement and, humility.

“You Shouldn’t Hang Around People Like That.”

This comes mostly from parents. I understand that we have to choose friends for our kids carefully. But when applied to adults, this thought process is unscriptural.

The other way of expressing the same condition is when people say “I’m Simply More Comfortable With People From My Church Than I Am With People Who Don’t Go To Church.”

But, look at the kind of people Jesus hung out with.

One of the reasons many churches aren’t growing is because Christians don’t know any non-Christians. They think they are holy and have nothing to do with the unholy people of the world.

“God listens to my prayers”

That’s boasting!

In Matthew 6:5-7 Jesus says “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.”

The biblical portrait of prayer is as much about broken people embracing the mystery and majesty of a forgiving God as much as it is about anything.

“Sure I Have A Few Issues, But That’s Between Me And God.”

Perfect on the outside and flawed on the inside—but that’s the accusation Jesus pushed against the Pharisees.

A biblical way of dealing with internal issues is not by keeping secrets that no one knows but it is transparency, vulnerability, and honesty.

These are just a couple of examples to help you see how subtly we carry the attitude of a Pharisee and fail to see the other person from Gods perspective, through his eyes of love, grace, and mercy.

As I conclude, I think this passage is a beautiful reminder for us to keep a check on our heart from a Pharisee like mindset.

Knowing that Jesus doesn’t appreciate or approve of it. Instead, he wants us to see him as the Lord over everything and to appreciate his sacrifice on the cross with humility and reverence.

And also to see the heart behind the warnings, rebukes, instructions, commands written in the bible as one given to us with love and for our benefit and well-being and not to burden us, and therefore delighting in them, obeying them so we bear fruit in season and out of season.

We are continuing with our Expository preaching from Mark.

Today’s Passage – Mark 2:18-22

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

When we look at this passage the most obvious thing that stands out is the mention of fasting and I can probably preach a sermon on fasting using this passage. But as I’ve read & re-read this passage I realize that preaching on fasting from this particular passage would not do justice to the actual context in which it is written, here’s why I say that …

1. Firstly, the emphasis is not on fasting but on the foundational beliefs of the people which needed correction, which is what I will be focusing on.
2. Secondly, if I have to preach a sermon on fasting then I believe there are much better passages that explain the concept of fasting. And because our goal today is to explicitly focus on this passage only, it is important that we don’t divert our attention from what the author is trying to tell us.

Mark is telling that one particular day some people came to Jesus and said: “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”

On the onset, it sounds quite like a genuine question to me. Did you see anything wrong with that question?

But let me give you little bit background … The three main pillars of Judaism at that time and even today are prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. And about fasting, it is said that during those days the Pharisees fasted twice in a week, on Mondays and Thursdays although there is no indication or mention in the laws about fasting twice in a week and fasting on Mondays & Thursdays.

Scriptural references to biblical fasts were on the Day of Atonement mentioned in Leviticus 16:29 and four days post-exile mentioned in Zacharias 18:19.

The Pharisees fasted twice in a week in addition to this.

Now notice Jesus had no complaint with fasting per se as it is practiced by the disciples of John and the Pharisees. If he had any complaints he would have mentioned it.

Instead what we see Jesus do is to draw their attention to himself and his ministry on earth. He describes his mission as a wedding – himself as the bridegroom and disciples as the guests of the bridegroom. And his point is that wedding is not a time to abstain but to live it up.

John’s disciples, the Pharisees, and their disciples missed to see the significance of that moment and did not see it as an occasion to celebrate.

In the Old Testament, the bridegroom is referred to as an image of God, not the Messiah (of course later in the New Testament we see Jesus clearly been referred as the bridegroom). So, at that time, Jesus, by even mentioning that he was bridegroom was indicating the fact that he was God himself. Those were actually provocative statements least expected by the Pharisees.

And then from there Jesus goes on to tell them two parables

Parable number one – “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.”

Parable number two – “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

What we see here is the Pharisees and the disciples of John had a way of doing things. Especially with respect to fasting, they fasted two days in a week even though it wasn’t required for them to do so.

What essentially was happening there was that people were trying to convince Jesus to fit in their model of doing things, in this passage, it was about fasting. They wanted to make room for Jesus in their already full agendas.

Maybe you might be able to relate with me here as I give this example … It’s like when we join a new company or an organization, we join them with full of zeal and enthusiasm to make a difference to the company and grow ourselves.

But we often find ourselves in a place where we are made to comply with the already existing traditional ways of doing things by the seniors. Even when there are better ways to do the same task with much efficiency we and made to stick to the old methods and fit into their already existing methodologies and processes. You want to make a positive difference by bringing in new ideas but you are restricted from doing so.

Have you been in a situation like that?

I believe that’s the kind of pressure the people were trying to put on Jesus when they wanted him to fit in their mold, and in response to their expectations, Jesus’s tells them these two parables.

Now let’s read those parables once again.

Parable number one – “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.”

Parable number two – “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

Did you get the point?

Wish we had the liberty to speak that way with our company bosses. But I’m sure it would put them off, so did the Pharisees. Why do you think they became even madder at Jesus.

What I want you to see is that – Jesus is in a standing debate with Pharisees and the people, primarily over the issue of tradition, in this case, it was fasting. But he addresses it even more harshly in Mark 7:1-13

Jesus wanted the people to see how blinded they had become because of all their traditions, so much so that they were unable to see the Son of God who came to make everything new.

Paul beautifully elaborates this fact in 2 Corinthians 5:17 where he says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

The old way of doing things, the old way of thinking, the old way in which we lived our lives, has passed away.

• They failed to see and accept Christ as the promised Messiah who came down to earth as a representative of God to make things new.
• They failed to see how their traditions and so-called godly lifestyles had made them even more corrupt and sinful and wretched in the eyes of God.
• They failed to see that they needed a savior to save them from their wretchedness and make them a new creation – holy and acceptable to God.

Instead, they wanted Jesus to fit in their way of thinking and doing things as per human traditions to which Jesus opposes them and explains what happens when a new cloth is stitched into an old one and when a new wine is poured into an old wineskin.

He said it will make the worst tear if a new cloth is stitched into an old one and the new wine will burst the old wineskins.

What he is saying is that if you try to fit the redemptive work of God through Christ into your old wretched traditional ways of doing things then you will do more harm than you can ever imagine.

Now, how do this passage and this understanding help us?

It helps us to see Christ’s life, death, and resurrection far more glorious and life-changing than we’ve ever thought of.

We don’t believe in the gospel because it sounds great, but we believe in the gospel because it transforms us into a new person.

Once we were sinners, we deserved God’s wrath and our destiny was eternal death and life in hell. We lived selfish lives, hated and mocked God by creating idols out of mud and worshiped them, we even worshiped animals and birds, much worse we worshiped & desired money, wealth and possessions of this world more than the living God himself.

And mind you – just like the Pharisees and the people who questioned Jesus, even we followed the traditions of the world, we manipulated one another, we robbed, we killed, we lied. We did all the evil in this world.

There is absolutely no man who can say he never did anything wrong, there is no man who can say he is sinless. Not even the sadhus and monks of this world can claim to be holy.

And because of all this, we deserved punishment, and the punishment was eternal death.

Until one day the promised Messiah, the savior of the world, the Son of the most holy God, Jesus, came down on this earth – not to improve our living conditions by fitting into our ways of doing things but to reform us and make us a new creation.

He did that by taking the penalty of our sins – the wrath that we deserved – the punishment that we should have endured – upon himself by dying on the cross. And his last words before his final breath was “It is finished”.

Finished forever – the old has gone – the new has come.

Three days later Jesus rose again from the dead, defeating the power of sin in us, giving us the freedom that once was unknown to us, restoring back our relationship with God our creator.

The old sinful man is now dead and the new man is alive.

And we receive this free gift of salvation not by any good works but by putting our faith in Christ and his finished work on the cross.

I believe Jesus wanted the Pharisees to see him for who he is.

I believe even today, Jesus wants us to see him for who he is, the one and true God who transforms our lives and makes us into new being in him. Not by fitting into our ways of doing things but by his ways.

Here are some questions we should ask ourselves this morning:

• Did we put your faith in Christ only because he does miracles in our lives?
• Did we put our faith in Christ only because he provides for our needs?
• Did we put our faith in Christ only because having associated with him makes us look cool.

Or did we put our faith in Christ because we truly believe in our hearts that it is only through him that we can be set free from sin & death, have eternal life, and be transformed into a new man that doesn’t fit into the traditions of this world?

The second application of this passage is that it warns us not to fit Christ into our ways and even our expectations from him like the people did.

Our human tendencies are always to get our work done, our way. Whether it is in business, whether in looking out for a suitable job, whether it is in our workplace, our family, our church, our surroundings.

We like it that way.

But once we become a Christian, we need to be careful that these tendencies don’t manifest in our relationship with Christ, that we don’t try to fit Jesus in into our dreams, our desires, our way of doing things, our human, earthy expectations. Even bind him to our traditions and customs.

Even in the church and more often in our ministries we can try to fit Jesus into our goals & our agendas.

And the warning is, in doing so we will cause more damage than we ever imagined.

It will suck out the life in us and paralyze us from enjoying a grace-filled, sanctified relationship with Christ.

In Romans 12:2 Paul reminds us by saying “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”

In all things, we should always discern what the will of God is for our lives and allow him to be in the driver seat.

Go where he takes you, speak what he asks you to speak, do what he tells you to do.

It could be that God is calling you to go and settle in a new place among strangers

It could be that God is asking you to take a risk with your job and start something new so you can serve him in bigger measures.

It could be that God is asking you to give more of your time and energy into serving him and his church.

And probably it may not fit into our contemporary ways of thinking and living. Nevertheless, follow him who is faithful and knows the end from the beginning.

He’s given us the Holy Spirit as a helper to help us pursue the right things to be led by the Spirit at all times.

If I had to fit Jesus into my dreams and desires that I had before I became a Christian I wouldn’t be where I am today. I feel blessed and happy for where God has kept me at this moment.

Yes, there are moments when I sometimes try to fit Jesus into my thinking and way of doing things but I’m thankful that his Spirit always convicts my heart, reminds me of the Gospel and enables me to let it go.

Let’s evaluate our hearts this morning and identify the areas where we try to fit Jesus into our mold instead of giving him the reins of our lives.

Let’s repent of those ways as his words convicts our hearts this morning.

And finally, as I end my sermon my encouragement to you this morning is to cherish this new life you have in Christ in full measure breaking out of all human traditions that binds you and allow him to rule over you 100% percent by following the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life.

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/make-much-of-christ-in-the-year-2018-audio.mp3″]

The reality of life is its slipping away from our hands, every passing day is a day less in our lives, our lives are limited on this earth, we don’t even know how many days are left for us to live on this earth.

When I look at my own days from the time I was born, until today. I don’t even know how the first 20 years of my life just went by, the next 10 years I spent figuring out what life is all about, fighting to get a college degree, trying to figure out what I want to do in life and getting married.

The next 9 years were spent looking after the family, providing for my children, serving in the church in whatever measure I could invest my time & energy.

This month I’ll turn 39, almost touching 40.

When I look back at my life, I’m definitely thankful to God that he led me, provided for me, and still takes care of me. I feel good that I found my purpose, my passion, the right place and the right people in my life that I feel good about.

But one thing that makes me feel sad is when I think why it took such a long time for me to arrive at this stage in my spiritual life, where I feel I’m now steady and stable. I know what I need from life and where I need to focus.

But I wish I was here when I was 25, I wish I had the energy and youthfulness I had when I was 25 to do more and achieve more for the Kingdom. Because I feel I wasted a lot of time chasing after the world and deprived myself of God and Seeking His Kingdom first in my life.

As I had these thoughts running through my mind while preparing today’s sermon I was also encouraged in my spirit that it is not too late. God will use the remaining years of my life for his glory and I want to be obedient and crazy from him then I’ve ever been before.

Similarly, I now want you all to think about your lives. And I want you to do it by answering the following questions in your mind.

Q1. How old are you?
Q2. How many years do you think you have in hand?
Q3. What is the immediate need in your life that you think will bring instant joy in your life?
Q4. To what extend are you willing to go to achieve that immediate need in your life?

A1. Obviously, You know your age.
A2. You don’t have any clue on how many days you have in hand. Only God does. Today can be the last day of your life.
A3. The thing that you are seeking for right now (it could be a job, a life-partner, a particular sum of money, an educational qualification, an inheritance from your parents, a business contract, promotion etc). Trust me, I say this out of my experience, these things will never bring lasting joy, the joy your soul is longing for. Once you have it, your heart will desire for more… it is a never-ending saga.

Think about the different kinds of people in our world.
– People who have money, yearn for relationships.
– People who have relationships, yearn for money.
– People who have jobs, yearn for promotion.
– People who have huge business contracts and good paying jobs, yearn for peace of mind.
– People who have a good educational qualification, yearn for a good job.

A4. If your answer to Q4 is “I’m willing to give and do anything to have my immediate desire been fulfilled”, then I want to ask you why is it that you want to give your all to achieve something that is not a source of real joy and satisfaction for life, maybe it can give momentary joy.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t give your best to achieve things in life, my question is why would you give all of yourself to something that, at the end of your life will be of zero value.

Wouldn’t you like to give your time, money, strength to something that is of true value, and a source of everlasting & eternal joy?

So, my job today as we begin this New Year is to point our hearts to the only true source of joy and fulfillment, an eternal one.

Brother & sisters, it is CHRIST and only Christ who is, and will ever be our true source of joy, happiness, and fulfillment.

It is not just about been happy on earth. The new testament indicates, that there’s another reason we need Jesus. There is a God who is altogether holy, who is perfectly just, and who declares that he is going to judge the world and hold every human being accountable for their life.

As a perfectly holy and just God, he requires for each one of us a life of perfect obedience and of perfect justness.

And it is only through Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross that we can receive acceptance from our creator God, which we can never achieve ourselves.

Jesus lived the perfect life of obedience and justness on our behalf and took our sins on himself and died in our place. When we believe this truth and put our faith in him, our sins are forgiven and the righteousness of Christ comes upon us, and we become holy and acceptable to God.

And therefore, I want to begin this new year by encouraging you to Make much of Christ in the year 2018. The passage that I want to point our hearts to is John 15:1-11 where Jesus saying…

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Here are a couple of things I want our hearts to remember and we make much of Christ in this coming year.

1. Always remember that Jesus is the true vine (v.1), the only source that connects us with the vinedresser, God, the creator who made, knows us, loves us, cares for us and sent us to this earth for a purpose.
2. As we continue to make much of Christ, we will be pruned every day (v.2). Through sufferings, struggles, pain, loss, discouragements, so we can bear much fruit. Romans 5:3-5 Pauls reminds us to rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
3. We will fail to see & produce fruit if we fail to abide in Christ (v.4-5)
4. There is a consequence if we fail to Abide in Christ (v.6)
5. As you make much of Christ and abide in him, you can ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Obviously, it has to be God’s will for your life as well. (v.7)
6. When you make much of Christ by abiding in him and bear fruit for him and prove to be the disciples of Jesus, God is glorified.
7. Obedience is the main thing, if you are unwilling to change and obey his commandments then nobody can help you in anyways. (v.10)

Here are some practical ways in which we can make much about Christ in this coming year.

As an individual…

– By seeking him daily through prayer and devotion
– By loving him more than anything or anybody in life
– By doing our best to present ourselves to him as one approved, unashamed and able to rightly handle the word of truth.

As a family…

– By trusting him for your needs, whether financial, health or whatever your need in life
– By seeking him as a family in devotion and prayer
– By serving him as a family in whatever capacity each one of you can contribute. Just like Joshua who said me and my household will serve the Lord.

At our workplace…

– By acknowledging him and his presence and having fellowship with him while at work
– By joyfully submitting to our earthly master as unto the Lord, giving your best at all times
– By trusting him as your provider and guide.

As you make much of Christ in the year 2018, my desire and prayer is that you are blessed abundantly and bountifully, that God would enlarge your territories and make your face shine, and even use you in unspeakable and unimaginable ways for his glory.