Category: Sermon

Categories
Mark Sermon

Marks of a true disciple – Mark 13:1-13

Good morning church! This week we will jump back to our series from the gospel of Mark. We took a small break to do some stand alone sermons over the last month and now we are excited to continue with our Mark series. We are currently in Mark 13 and the events of today’s passage take place during Passion Week. Sometime between Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday which was on Passover night.  The Jewish leaders are becoming increasingly hostile toward Jesus at this point.

Literally every passage mentions phrases like “they’re trying to argue with him, trap him, arrest him and destroy him, arrest him” and that’s because Jesus is openly condemning their hypocrisy and exposing their sin. Most of the events surrounding these last few days before Jesus’ death takes place in and around the Jerusalem temple. In spite of knowing what was going to happen to Him, Jesus boldly and willingly presents Himself in front of the very people that are going to crucify Him so that He can offer the sacrifice that can “take away your sins and mine”. That’s the context and let’s jump into today’s text from Mark 13:1-13:

Historically, this topic of “end times” has always fascinated the church. Some churches have heavily focused on this topic of “end times” and they’ll only study and talk about the book of Daniel or Revelations. The danger sometimes is that we can end up spending too much of time and add our own meanings to these symbols. On the other hand, theologians have had wars over for many years debating over when exactly is the end of age and Christ’s return – Pre-millenial, Post-millenial etc. And from this passage, we realize that the disciples also wanted to know about the end times. So it’s not a new question. But I find Jesus’ answer astonishing.

It almost seems like Jesus’ isn’t answering the question but He is. Jesus’ answer on end times is to tell them that they need to be concerned about enduring till the end. They need to be concerned about their response to various difficult situations that are going to come before them. Because what’s mentioned here are severe hardships and I think what this passage is telling us is that a true disciple will endure by the grace of God. And I think that’s the real question that we need to deal with today is am I going to endure till the end? How do I know if my faith is sincere and real?

What’s my response to Counterfeits (v5-6)

There are going to be many counterfeits that are going to come in Jesus’ name saying that they are the Christ. Probably they’ll be able to perform wonders and miraculous signs. Probably they’ll teach with great oratory skills. And not just that but many are going to be led astray. There are going to be many followers of false-Christs. That’s what’s going to make this tricky. Today if you were to buy something from Amazon, what would you look for? Reviews and ratings, right? The more popular the reviews, the more likely you’ll buy this product. And here you’ll find yourself in a place where these counterfeits are having massive followers. So how can we know who’s the real Christ and who isn’t?

If someone happened to give you a fake Rs. 500 bank note, how would you know it’s fake? Because the fake note would probably match the original 95% but there will be that 5% difference which will need to be spotted. And only if you’ve seen the original note and studied it would you be able to identify the fake. In the same way, Christ has revealed Himself to us through the written Word – the Bible. Jesus said that all the Scriptures bear witness about Jesus (John 5:39). So if we are sincerely trying to understand God through the Bible, we will see Jesus shine forth brightly through the pages. We can’t help but notice the person of Jesus & the redeeming work of Christ mentioned in every passage from Genesis to Revelation.

I was encouraged by listening to our brother’s testimony yesterday where he shared how his family came to know Jesus around the time when he was born. They were the first to believe in their entire tribe. Although he saw the faith being lived out in his parents, he didn’t own it until he was in 16. And as he read the Bible, God opened up his heart to see Jesus and understand what Jesus did for him – and he responded in faith on Jesus and got saved! And that’s the wonderful truth about the Bible. When we read the Bible – it’s not to learn about history but to learn about His Story! It’s not a rule book for life but an invitation to grow in a Relationship with Jesus! Through the Bible we get to know His character, His power, His Sacrifice, His Example and His Purposes. And not in just a factual knowledge kind of way. Jesus reveals it to us personally through His Spirit so that we can grow in an intimate relationship with Him.  Your intimate relationship is going to help you discern if it’s your loving Savior or not! If we truly know Christ and listen to His voice everyday through the Bible, we don’t need anyone else to tell us – this is Christ or that one is Christ. We know for sure ourselves….

And that’s exactly what Jesus meant from John 10:3-5: The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.

And that gets reflected a lot of the times in which we think and refer to Jesus. Think about brothers and sisters…do you think and refer to Jesus from a third person’s perspective or first person’s perspective? Is Jesus just someone else’s God or is He “your God and your Lord” where you have known Him yourself and you are getting to know Him more and more intimately each day? Let’s evaluate our hearts and honestly answer if we have truly known Jesus? Not through your pastor or your friend…Do you know Jesus for who He is? If the answer is “I don’t know. I’m not sure”, I think the best place to start from is the Bible and I would encourage you to get in touch with one of the leaders and we would love to get you connected with another brother and sister who can walk with you as you are trying to know Jesus. 

What’s my response to Calamities (v7-8)

7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

The second reality that signals the start of the end times are increasing wars and calamities. Nations are going to war with other nations and various earthquakes and famines will be taking place all over the world. This reality is going cause serious physical harm to your safety and your property and your provisions. And Jesus says these are the “beginning of birth pains” which means that the frequency will increase and duration of this as well. This isn’t a pleasant thing to witness but why would Jesus tell us to “not be alarmed”? Are we to ignore this calamity and pretend like it never happened? How can we not be troubled by this?

I think the reason why believers can remain assured even during disasters such as wars and earthquakes and famines is because:

  • We know of God’s providence

God is in complete control of all things in the universe. He not only knows what’s going to happen in the future but He also governs its destiny. I like the way the writer of Proverbs 16 mentions it. He says “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. (Prov 16:33)”. It’s like the most random thing in the world is to roll the dice but God is somehow still in control of every outcome. I hope you don’t take this as a reason to take decisions by rolling the dice but understand the proverb that there is nothing random or shocking or “out of control” for God. He always is in control. Even in extreme situations like earthquakes, famines and wars, God governs it and purposefully uses it for His glory.

  • We know of a certain future

The Christian life is a life of faith – believing and trusting in promises that God (who doesn’t lie or break his promise) has made for us. Although wars and calamities are realities that might momentarily affect believers but beyond that it won’t because they long for a better place, a better country and better home that’s not on earth but in heaven. Let’s hear what the writer of Hebrews says: 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Heb 11:14-16)

Again, let’s pause and ask ourselves when we think about the impending end times and the calamities that it’s going to bring – does that make you insecure? I understand these are not easy realities to face but ask yourself – what’s stopping me from trusting in God’s providence and the certain future in heaven? Is it because I love my life on the earth so much that I can’t think of losing it? Or is it because I don’t really trust that God is in control of everything?

What’s my response to Persecution (v9-13)

The third thing that is reality during the end times will be severe persecution! I remember brother sharing how India’s rank on the persecuted nations list keeps rising each week.

Jesus tells us that during the end times it’s going to bring persecution from very powerful and influential people, sometimes from religious people who think they are serving God and sometimes even from our own family which probably affects us the most. We will be “hated” and disliked and hugely unpopular for living and talking about Jesus Christ. Yes, that’s true but we will also have the privilege of bearing witness and telling them of how good and how merciful is our God. And we don’t have to prepare a sermon or prepare great arguments or be anxious on what to say at that time.

Jesus says the Holy Spirit will give us the words and will speak through us during that time. During that time of persecution, the Holy Spirit will empower us in a very special and powerful way. And I think that should make us look forward to this.   In Acts 8 we see how Stephen is being executed and that same day a great persecution came against the church in Jerusalem which scattered the church throughout Samaria and Judea. We come to Acts 11 and we see how some believers reached Antioch and start sharing the gospel and eventually a church is birthed out of nowhere.

The church of Antioch then becomes the launching pad to send out Paul and Barnabas as church planters to many other places! Especially in urban churches like in our context, the tendency would be to avoid this conversation or minimize the discussions around persecution but as we look at Scripture it seems like a divinely ordained way to advance the gospel of Jesus. I understand why there could be a fear at the thought of it and I know some of us are experiencing it right now but let me encourage us to not look at it negatively but rather embrace the purposes that God has through this in order to use us, reach the lost with the gospel and ultimately bring glory to Himself.

Categories
1 Peter Sermon

God’s Glory In Suffering

Good morning! Let’s get right into the text that we’re going to look at this morning. I know that we’ve confused some of you with the preaching schedule over the last several weeks. For clarity, we were going to jump back into Mark last weekend, but with our guest preacher and wanting to make sure we stayed synched up with Red Tree, we’re asking for one more week of grace this morning.

The plan is to jump back into Mark next Sunday. But, for our purposes this morning, I want to look at a text with you that God has been using to awaken me to a greater understanding of how His mission goes forward in the world through His people. And, as we look at this today, I want you to think specifically about what persecution & suffering for the mission of God does in the life of the believer.

It’s interesting, Open Doors (https://www.opendoorsusa.org) just released their annual report for 2019 on the most persecuted countries in the world. This is a list that looks at a wide range of factors in determining how believers are treated for their faith in a county. India has been climbing the list every year for the last several years and is currently ranked #10. This is a very relevant topic for believers living in India!

And, if we’re going to think about what it looks like to live for the glory of God, especially in the midst of persecution & suffering, I can’t think of a better text to look at than 1 Peter chapter 4. If you have a Bible with you this morning, I’d invite you to turn there with me. We’ll look specifically at verses 12 – 19. Before we read this, let’s go to the Lord in prayer to ask for His help this morning.

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (1 Peter 4:12-19)

If we’re being honest, this can be a very difficult text for most of us. Just think about the things that we tend to idolize and chase after. We’ve been conditioned to pursue comfort, safety, and security. And here you have Peter saying that, “fiery trials should be seen as normal.” He’s saying that, “we should rejoice when we suffer.” He’s saying, “if you are insulted, you are blessed.” He’s painting a picture here of suffering for the name and fame of Jesus as something that we should desire in our lives or, at the very least, something that we should embrace when it happens.

But, none of that sits well with the idols that we tend to embrace. In fact, our idols train us to dismiss Peter’s words. That’s why this is a hard word for many of us to read, and it’s exactly why we need to hear it. We need for God’s Word to come in and root out the things in our heart that we’re pursuing over and above God.

Regardless of how you view suffering & persecution, and regardless of how much suffering & persecution you might be facing right now as a believer in Mumbai, I want to challenge you this morning on a deeper principle at work in this text. Because, there’s something at work here that transcends culture and context. In other words, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you live, this applies to you. I could summarize it like this:  Our aim is to live for the glory of God no matter the circumstances that He brings into our lives.

It is not up to you and me to determine the circumstances of our lives; that’s God’s job. And, by the way, this is why idolatry is so wicked. We set up things in our heart above the pursuit of God’s glory, and then we try to control and shape our circumstances around the pursuit of those created things. And it’s all a lie! The truth is that God is completely sovereign over the circumstances of our lives. He’s the One who determines what we experience. Look again at verse 19 — “Therefore let those who suffer ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”

It doesn’t matter what your circumstances are. It doesn’t matter if you’re just suffering the general effects of the fall (with things like a serious illness, or a damaged relationship, or the death of someone close to you, or a situation where you’re not being treated fairly at work). Those are all effects of a fallen, sinful, broken world. It doesn’t matter if you’re facing those circumstances, or if you’re being actively persecuted for your faith in Jesus, or if you’re suffering from both at the same time. The principle is the same; we are called to glorify God in those circumstances.

Will I respond to my circumstance (whether it’s persecution or cancer) by turning away from God, or by turning into God? Will I renounce Him (either with my lips or my actions), or will I give Him glory through this trial? Will I trust Him, or will I grow angry and bitter? This principle is universal in suffering & persecution; no matter the type. And the result is the same as well. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, if you suffer, if you are persecuted, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Isn’t that an interesting phrase? When you suffer, “the Spirit of God rests upon you.” In other words, we experience the Spirit in a different way, He ministers to us in a unique or more powerful way when we are suffering for the name of Jesus Christ and for His glory. Now, I don’t know about you, but I desire to have the Spirit more at work in me. I desire for more of His presence, more of His power, more dependence upon Him. I want to be used in greater ways by Him. So, when I read that the Spirit of Glory & of God will rest upon me, I want that! Do you want that? Of course you do!

But, here’s what we need to remember:  That is tied directly to how we respond to suffering in our lives. You want more of Him? You have to live for His glory in the midst of your suffering, whatever that suffering looks like. Again, suffering is all to common in a place like Mumbai, and even more common throughout the whole of India. We read the news, we hear stories. Some of you in this room have stories where you have, or are currently, being persecuted for your faith. And we all certainly have examples of suffering the general effects of the fall.

Our tendency, because of what we idolize, is to see suffering, persecution and difficulties as bad things. We’ll hear of a situation and talk about how terrible it is. But, here’s what we must remember:  God is getting glory for His name. God is using the suffering of His people to glorify His name. But, if we’re going to be honest, it doesn’t look like glory or feel like glory in the moment, does it? When someone is suffering mightily, it doesn’t look like glory. But the Cross didn’t look like glory either. But, oh was Christ’s work on that Cross glorious!!!!

It’s the same thing when we suffer like He suffered. Just as the cross wasn’t the last word, God doesn’t allow the suffering of His saints be the last word either. Glory will be the last word! “Rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” You might be in a situation right now that’s terrible. It’s dark and it doesn’t feel like there’s any way out. It feels like there’s no end in sight and that nothing good will every come of that circumstance. It’s so easy to allow that circumstance to define you.

Let me encourage you:  God is accomplishing far more abundantly than we could ever ask or think. What looks like defeat to you right now is actually God paving the way for the revelation of Christ’s glory in the world through you. Do you hear that church? We get to be a part of what God is doing in the world to reveal His glory. And, never are we more a part of that work than when we respond in faith in the midst of difficult circumstances. When we refuse to be defined by the world, and by our sin, and by our circumstances, and by our suffering. When we are steadfast in our commitment to be defined by God’s eternal glory, by His righteousness, by His faithfulness, and by the fact that He works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.

Church, in all of this we rejoice! So, here’s how I’d like to end our time this morning. In light of everything we’ve considered, I want to make a few observations from the text of why we must rejoice in our sufferings. My hope is just to give you these points for further reflection as we leave this place.

1. Our suffering has divine purpose
Verse 19: “Let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator.”

2. Our suffering shows that we are united with Christ
Verse 13: “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings…”

3. The Spirit of glory and of God rests upon us when we suffer
Verse 14: “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”

4. Our suffering glorifies God
Verse 16: “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”

Categories
1 Peter Sermon

Why Church?

Last Sunday Jinson preached from 1 Peter 2:9-10 and shared with us the vision and goals for the Church in the year 2019.

As mentioned, the three goals we want to focus in 2019 are

  • Neighbourhood Ministries – Reaching out to our neighbours with the gospel and planting new Gospel Communities.
  • One-on-one Discipleship – Where everyone is sharing life with at least one person.
  • Establish Covenant membership – Committing to church life and fulfilling the vision as a family.

Jinson also highlighted that the responsibility of fulfilling this vision of the Kingdom of God is not just upon the elders of the church, but it is the calling laid out for every follower of Jesus.

Some of you may be finding all this overwhelming?

And the questions you are asking are ….

Q: Why should I get involved in church so deeply when I have other things to focus in life?

Q: Am I not supposed to focus on my career and my Job the most?

Q: Am I not supposed to find a spouse, get married, have children & settle down in life?

Can’t I just be a regular person who comes to Church on Sunday whenever I’m free and relaxed?

Hidden behind all these smaller questions about Church is a larger question most people are asking today is “Why Church?”, Why is Church important?

In today’s sermon, I will be answering this question.

But before I begin, I want to let you know that we as leaders totally understand these struggles. We too work in corporate companies as full-time employees just as you guys and voluntarily serve in the church.

I’m not saying this to boost, but I’m saying this to let you know that we are not asking you to do anything that we are not doing.

What I’m going to share about the church today are the very reasons that motivate us to sacrifice our time and energy because of the joy and fulfilment we experience in serving God and his people.

This calling is not just for church leaders but is for each one who’ve put their faith in Christ and is his followers.

The Right picture of the Church

But, let me first start by presenting the right picture of the church.

The word ‘church’ in Greek (Yunani) is the called ‘ekklesia’ and ekklesia means ‘an assembly’ or ‘called out ones’. It is not a building or a place, but it is people.

This is important for our conversation because most people when they hear the word church the visual is of a building with a cross on it, which is a totally distorted view.

Church, is an assembly of people gathered together for a common purpose of glorifying God. And this assembly is led by a leader.

Ephesians 1:22-23 tells us that Jesus is the head of this church, this assembly.

“And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

And for the assembly of Jesus followers to function well, it has to be organised well. And that’s how we get the understanding of Universal church and the Local Church. The universal church is the whole assembly of Jesus followers spread around the world, and the Local church is a unit of the universal church that operates locally.

The idea is similar to a political leader (for example Mahatma Gandhi) who gathered a group of people across the nation for a common purpose and then established offices in different regions and assigned local leaders to lead them.

Similarly, when we talk about the church – the head of the assembly is Jesus, the common purpose is bringing Glory to God’s name, the different establishments are the local churches and the elders are the leaders appointed by the head shepherd, who is Jesus, to lead God’s people towards the common goal.

Now, coming back to our question

Why Church? or

What is the purpose of the Church? or

What role does the church play in our individual lives?

To answer this question, we will look at two scripture verses out of which I will share 4 functions of the church and talk about how each of them functions contribute to our individual lives.

The first verse is Acts 2:42 where we get to see the activities that happen within the church and Matthew 28:19-20 where we look at how that transcends into the world.

Acts 2:42 – “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

Matthew 28:19-20 – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

1. Why Church? Because the Church helps us gather a RIGHT PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE.

Acts 2:42 gives us a description of what church life looked like for those new believers who heard Peter share the Gospel and were cut through their heart, repented of their sins and were baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit.

The first thing they did was they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching.

Brothers & sister, the world around us offers various different perspective on life, there are thousands of books available in the market that give different outlook on life.

Some will say money is the answer to all life’s problems, others will say knowledge is what liberates men, and others who say freestyle living is the answer to all emotional setbacks.

Remember that all these observations are human perspectives based on individual experiences and it is only the Bible that opens our eyes to the truth and sets us free.

2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.”

We get the right perspective on life only in the church because it is only in the church where we are introduced and taught from the manual provided by our manufacturer God.

Moreover, the church not only addresses specific issues periodically but also increases our appetite to go back home and read and meditate on scriptures even more.

And therefore, the church is important because when we come here with an open mind to receive what’s been taught from the manual of God, the Bible, we gain enlightenment and a right perspective on life.

And therefore it is important that we pay attention to the preaching of God’s word, even if we’re not able to make to church on Sunday make sure you go back read the notes without fail.

We meditate on what’s been preached, when the scriptures convict us of sin, confess and repent to God and to a fellow brethren.

Finally, walk in obedience and change your belief’s, your lifestyle as the Spirit of God leads you. 

2. Why Church? Because Church encourages us to have and maintain a RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARDS PEOPLE.

The second thing we see the people do in Acts 2:42 is they regularly fellowshipped with each other.

If you look at history, humanity has always thrived when they’ve come together in unity. Great exploits have been recorded that proves the effects of the union of human spirits. Every being on this planet, be it social or wild, flourish when they live, share, and grow as a community.

A human being is a social being, and we like to share our feelings, happiness and sorrows with other humans. And in doing so especially within the church context helps us develop right relationships with people, not just with church folks but also with the world outside.

Through his church, Jesus joins us together in a community where we learn to love, forgive, bear with one another, encourage, help, exalt, correct, uplift, etc.

God has joined us together as a family for a purpose, and we need to see it that way. Not running away from each other but running towards each other for support and encouragement.

That is why we encourage participation in Gospel Communities and One-on-one discipleship.

When we do so, we develop a right attitude towards other people which also reflects in the way we deal with the world outside.

3. Why Church? Because Church helps build RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

The thirdd activity we see in Acts 2:42 is participating in the Lord’s supper and praying together as a family helping build a healthy and right relationship with God.

We are professional forgetters, even though we’ve heard the Gospel and its implications on our personal lives a thousand times, the devil is continuously behind our back distracting us to follow a false path leading us to death.

But when we come to church and participate in the holy communion, when we gather in communities, and a have a meal, when we join hands and prayer for each other – we remember our Lord and his sacrifice on the cross for the redemption of our sins. We express our dependence on him in prayer.

All of this leads to building a right connection with God. As a result, we carry the light of Christ to every place we go.

4. Why Church? Because the Church reveals to us the RIGHT PURPOSE TO PURSUE.

We have to remind ourselves that the end goal which God is accomplishing for himself is to gather his called ones from all around the world. And it is our great privilege to be a participant in this great work.

In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus said – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Beyond our career, our jobs, our dreams, making money & travelling the world, the truest purpose in life, for which we are all created is to serve God and to participate in his Kingdom work. Everything else is secondary.

Every one of us will find true fulfilment only when we pursue the purpose for which we are created, every other pursuit will just give us a temporary sense of satisfaction and happiness.

It is only in the church where we are made aware of our purpose and given the opportunity and direction to serve God and purse the right purpose for life.

And that is why we encourage each one of you to serve in some way or the other.

Conclusion

As I conclude, I hope I’ve given you enough reasons to get up from your bed every Sunday morning to come to church with joy and excitement in your heart to gain a RIGHT PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE, to develop a RIGHT A RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARDS PEOPLE, to build a RIGHT CONNECTION WITH GOD & to PURSE THE RIGHT PURPOSE IN LIFE.

Categories
1 Peter Sermon

Vision 2019

Good morning church! Earlier this week I received some really sad news about one of my clients. He passed away due to lung cancer at the age of 36. Professionally he was doing great – had a Senior Management role in a Top MNC, had a great pay package and many years of work experience. He was also a very knowledgeable client – way ahead of his contemporaries in terms of knowing what’s the latest in technology.

He had a nice sweet family – wife and a little daughter. People would’ve envied his life. No one would’ve imagined that he would be diagnosed with an advanced stage of lung cancer in May last year. On December 31st when everyone around the world prepared to party into the new year, he breathed his last and passed away. I was obviously shocked by this news but what saddened me even more was to think that he died without knowing Jesus & failed to live out his life with eternity in mind. All of his accomplishments didn’t matter in the end.

All the money didn’t matter in the end. The picture – perfect life didn’t matter in the end. This made me once again think about what should our purpose in life be. If today is our last day on this earth, can we look back and say that we lived life with an eternal purpose? Or was it lived only to make money or a name for ourselves? As a church what should our purpose be – is it just meeting on Sundays or are we called as a church for something more? As I thought about this question about purpose, my mind moved toward a passage from 1 Peter 2:9-10

I believe this passage reminds us about two things: Identity and Activity!

1. Identity
What we mean by identity is trying to answer the question “Who am I?”. “At the core of my being, who am I really?” In the world people try to answer this question by doing more stuff assuming that more stuff and more accomplishments will create a better identity. However, if you are a believer in Christ you are given an identity – not earned but gifted to you – and it’s the best identity ever! So let’s see what are the different aspects of our identity in Christ:


a. Chosen race (v9)

We have been chosen by God – it literally means handpicked and selected. Wow! The thought of God personally selecting us to be his people. And this takes it to another level when we realize that God chose us in Christ even before the foundations of the world. (Eph 1:3) Now just before we pat our backs and think that we had to do something with it, let’s remember that God’s choice was not based on our talents or works.

And that’s radically different from the way the world works. I remember giving my name for the cricket tournament that was being organized in my building. If it were left up to my skill level, I would for sure not get selected. Fortunately, they had some kind of auction and I was added to one of the teams. We know how it works in the world. We only get selected for something if we have the ability or skill for it. But in God’s kingdom, it’s the opposite.

He comes not for the righteous but for the sinners. (Mk 2:17) God doesn’t choose the qualified, rather He qualifies those whom He chooses. You’ll actually find God’s chosen race look very different than what the world would expect. It will contain the worst, the least, the unlikely and the unexpected. Why? So that the world will see and know how good and great is our God!

b. Royal Priesthood (v9)

The word priest actually means a minister appointed to serve God. The priests also represented the people when they came before God. They would offer sacrifices on behalf of the people before God. Their role was a very important part of God relating with His people. This was all foreshadowing the true High Priest – Jesus Christ. As a result of believing in Christ, we have now been given a role of royal priests.

If someone came up to you and asked you to show them to a priest, what comes to your mind? You’ll automatically think about the pastors of your church or the church leaders or the priest from the Catholic church. But it’s an astonishing statement that all of us who believe in Jesus are “royal priests” called to serve the Most High God. But what’s our job description? It’s obviously not sacrificing bulls and goats but rather giving thanks to God and producing works of love and generosity. (Heb 13:15-16)

c. Holy Nation (v9)

This is something that I find it difficult to grapple with. How is it possible that unholy people are called to form a Holy Nation? I understand that because He is Holy, His nation would also need to be Holy. I know that God is an impartial Father who will judge every deed that has been done on the earth. (1 Pet 1:15-17) but I don’t understand why would He chose unholy people like us to be a part of it.

I mean even our good works and our best works are like filthy rags!!! (Isa 64:6) I know my thoughts and my words and my action – I can’t possibly be asked to be a part of a Holy Nation. If I enter a Holy Nation, I would make it unholy!!! And that’s where the amazing truth of Jesus Christ comes in. He who knew no sin became sin so that in Him we could be the righteousness of God! (2 Cor 5:21) We are unholy but because of Christ, His pure and Holy life has been placed upon us. It’s like Jesus exchanged His pure robe with us for our dirty laundry. That’s how we become a Holy Nation. – because of Him.

d. People for His own Possession (v9)

We are God’s treasured possession! We belong to Him only! We are His. I think this idea of belonging to each other has made more sense through marriage. In my marriage with Angie, by God’s grace there is this amazing joy and security in the fact that we belong to each other. We treasure each others lives. And that also causes us to be protective of each other. If someone tries to attack either spouse, we are going to stand up and protect each other because we belong to each other. Attacking my wife means attacking me personally.

And in our relationship with God, because we are God’s treasured possession He also stands up for us when we are attacked by accusations and condemning words. Romans 8 says “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that who was raised – who is at the right hand of God who indeed is interceding for us”. Every thing that needed to be done to protect Jesus’ bride – the church from condemnation and accusation was done on the cross. And now we can rest knowing that we are His and His only.

Isn’t this amazing?? What a wonderful identity! But this identity of being a chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation is not an end in itself. It leads us to activity!

2. Activity
We’ve been given this wonderful identity so that we can declare and celebrate the character and works of a gracious God! For people who have been saved – our hearts, our focus & our conversations change. Christ changes our desires, He changes our goals and He changes our language. Now you might say…Jinson you’ve said the big broad statement, but what does this actually mean? How can I proclaim the excellencies of God? How can I declare and celebrate the character and works of a gracious God in my daily life? Peter uses 3 ways to express this:-

a. Darkness to light

Just imagine being in a dark room. No window and so there’s no reflection of light. You are literally blinded. And that’s what being in sin looks like. We live a life ignorant of God, showing Him no respect and also not paying attention to how it affects us and others. All of this is accompanied with ungodliness and immorality results in us taking the highway to hell.

Now think about someone switching on a really bright light in that room. So bright that now you are blinded by this radiant light.  And that’s what being saved by Christ and brought into God’s presence is like – pure, extraordinary, brilliance way beyond our mind and comprehension.

What a privilege to now be in the presence of God! All of this begins to change the way we live every day. So we get plenty of opportunities to testify to our neighbors, colleagues at work, friends and family – telling them about the great change that God has brought about in our lives. As a church this year we want to focus on having Gospel Communities based out of neighbourhoods.

We encourage each of you to think about your society, your building, your home and pray for opportunities to tell them about this wonderful God who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. It’ll be so exciting to see a few GC’s start in new areas where there was no gospel before.

b. Not a people but now God’s people

At one time we were separated from God and each other but now in Christ we have been accepted by God and joined to each other. At one time we were lost and abandoned but now we are found and added to God’s family.  The language throughout this passage is clear. When God saves you, He joins you to His family – the church. We live in culture that is highly non-committal – it’s always telling you to run away from commitment.

Culture says don’t marry – just live in together. Culture says you don’t need to marry one person your whole life – just have a string of relationships. And we know how this can be really destructive to lives and families but I want to tell you how this mentality can also hurt the church.

When believers don’t commit to each other but only meet and hang around as long as it’s convenient and comfortable, they end up hurting the other each other than caring for them. The moment things get difficult and complicated, they hop to another church and this hurts their own spiritual lives the most. Knowing this, we as a church we will be moving towards covenant membership and we’ll invite you to formally covenant with this church. We see this as God’s design to care and grow the church keeping your best interests in mind.

c. Had not received mercy to receiving mercy

Have you ever thought what it means for God to show mercy? Remember God is not stingy when He shows mercy…He pays the highest cost to show mercy! We see the depth of His mercy when He sends His precious Son to die on the cross so that we could be protected from the wrath that comes upon sinners & receive all the spiritual blessings graciously. God delights in showing us mercy!!! God does that so that we would know Him and love Him even more as we witness His mercy.

Some of us till now have  only experienced an intellectual understanding of mercy. We know what the gospel is intellectually but it’s not causing us to love Jesus more. It’s not causing us to know Him more. You still view God’s mercy as though someone was showing compassion on a stranger. No, God shows you mercy so that you would grow in an intimate relationship with Him. He is your Father and He desires for you to know Him that way. And experiencing God’s mercy causes us to bend that mercy outwards.

You cannot say that you are experiencing the grace of God and yet be greedy! If you are truly experiencing God’s grace in your life, how can you be satisfied without investing into someone else? If you are truly experiencing God’s grace in your life, how can you not help someone else know and obey Christ? We know how God has called us to be disciple-makers & we want to focus on 1 on 1 discipleship this year. I’d encourage you to find someone in church or in your life whom you can chose to walk with closely with, study Scripture with and model how to obey Christ.

As elders we really desire that you love and obey Christ as you’ve never done before in this coming year. We want you to live out the amazing identity that leads to spiritual activity! And whenever it is our last day on this earth, we want all of us to be confident that our lives were lived with eternity in mind.

Categories
Sermon

Give Thanks

Ending 2018 with Thanksgiving to God

We usually preach through the book of the Bible, and we are currently preaching through the Gospel of Mark. But because of Christmas and the beginning of the new year, we decided to take a break from Mark and speak on some relevant topics that will prepare our hearts and minds for the coming year.

Last Sunday, since it was a Christmas week, Jinson preached a message of the good news of Jesus. This Sunday I want to encourage all of us to end this year with a token of thanksgiving for all that God has done in our lives, especially in the year 2018.

But let me first begin by sharing why is it important to give thanks to the Lord.

1. We thank God primarily because it is a command – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 – Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Our general human tendency is to feel happy and thankful when everything around us is going on well. But if we are indeed a child of God then what sets us apart for others is when we show thankfulness even when we go through hard times. And the reason is that we know that God is working for our good even when he allows bad circumstances to come in our lives.

And that is why Paul is saying ‘give thanks in all circumstances.’ – not just for the good times but even for the bad times.

The reason I want to highlight this point is that you may not be pleased how the last year went by in your life. Maybe you didn’t get what you expected from God, but instead, the previous year was the worst year ever.

No matter how good or bad the year has been in your life, as a believer, we are commanded to give thanks at all times, and I want to encourage you to offer the sacrifice of thanks to our God all times.

2. We thank God because we cannot adequately praise and worship God without also being thankful.

In Psalm 100:1-3 the psalmist is exalting us and saying.

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness!  Come into his presence with singing!  Know that the LORD, he is God!   It is he who made us, and we are his;   we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,   and his courts with praise!   Give thanks to him; bless his name!  For the LORD is good;   his steadfast love endures forever,   and his faithfulness to all generations.

Worship is the will of God for the whole earth and Thanksgiving is the essential ingredient to True Worship.

We worship him because we are thankful for all that he has done and will do in our lives.

3. We thank God because by doing so we acknowledge that everything comes from God and that we are entirely depended on him for everything.

4. We think God because it keeps our hearts in right relationship with the giver of all good gifts.

What does it mean when we don’t thank God?

Without gratefulness, we become arrogant and self-centred. We begin to believe that we have achieved everything on our own.

Out of the many things we ought to thank God for, I want to highlight and speak about two things that’s most important of all.

1.    The first one is the Gospel.

Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

Once upon a time, we were in darkness and the Gospel set us free.

We were created by God, to love Him, to worship Him, to adore Him, to glorify Him.

God wanted us to live under his authority and his dominion because he made us he had all the right to demand that from us. But instead of living in a loving relationship with God, the first man and women, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God’s Holy laws and failed to live under His authority. They Sinned, and their relationship with God was broken.

Since then everyone born on this earth is born sinful, no one teaches us to cheat, bite, lie and rebel, we are born with those qualities. Why? Because we are born sinful.

The reason our world is corrupt is because we are corrupt. We live in brokenness because our relationship with our creator God is broken and no matter how hard man tries to please God, he never succeeds.

But the Bible tells us that God so loved us that he sent his Son Jesus to live an obedient life and SINLESS life on our behalf, take all the penalty of our Sin on himself and die a terrible death on our behalf so that we can be forgiven, and our relationship with God can be restored back by doing two things – Repenting and Believing in his son Jesus.

Jesus died and was buried for three days, after which he rose again from the dead, defeated sin and death and giving us an abundant life. A life full of joy, peace and satisfaction.

For those who believed – Since then the Gospel is at work in our lives – Daily setting us free from bondage and sin patterns that capture our minds.

The Gospel is at the centre of our church ministry, and that is why we make sure to preach the gospel through every sermon we preach.

As we end this year, let us be thankful for the Gospel in our lives. The constant reminders of God love and grace.

2. Church

When I say church, I’m not talking about a building or a place but the people. The Church is the people of God.

Here are a couple of reasons why we have to be thankful for the church and especially one another.

1. God uses the Church to bring the Hope of Christ in our lives – Through the preaching of God word, through the counsel of Godly leaders.
2. God uses the church to break every wall of separation that mankind has created, and unites our hearts as one people.
3. God uses the church to sanctify us – As we rub against each other, through sufferings, through conflicts, through the pain.
4. God uses the church to uplift our spirits in hard and difficult times.

Let us be thankful and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving that will glorify the name of our Lord.

Let us enter the year 2019 with thanksgiving in our hearts. With hope in our hearts, expecting God to do great and mighty things in our lives.

Categories
John Sermon

Christmas: A Message of good news! John 1:1-17

Good morning church! We are a couple of days away from Christmas day and what a wonderful season for people all around the world. In fact sometimes I think during Christmas, unbelievers seem to be more enthusiastic about this time than believers. But it should be a special time for believers as we remember that Christmas is about Jesus.

And this morning we gather together to celebrate His birth, death and resurrection as a family! As I was pondering on what passage to preach on this week, I felt like John 1 would be perfect for all of us to study this morning. Even as you are turning to John chapter 1, I just want to setup the context.

This gospel is written by the apostle John. He was one of the three disciples in Jesus’ inner circle apart from Peter and James. His main purpose for writing this gospel was to tell people that Jesus is the Son of God, the awaited Messiah and that we can receive eternal life by believing in Him. Simple, straight forward purpose and we are excited to see what God wants to communicate to our hearts through this passage. John 1:1-17

I believe this passage has 3 things for us this morning:

  1. Christ is the true God
  2. Christ is the true Light
  3. Christ is the true Revelation

Christ is the true God

The apostle John starts this gospel with the words “In the beginning was the Word”. Do you remember any other place in Scripture that has a similar intro? Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And right from the start John is trying to connect both passages and tell people how Jesus is the true God.

a.His Pre-existence

“In the beginning was the Word” (v1). Before anything was made or before anything existed – Jesus existed. For everything else in all the world, there is a start date…everyone and everything has a manufacturing date but not Jesus because He is God. Before the universe existed – Jesus existed. There are debates on how old the earth is – some say between 4-10 thousand years…others say a million years…either ways Jesus existed way before that! Isn’t that amazing?

b.His personal relationship within the Trinity

“the Word was with God” (v1) implying a very close relationship between God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn’t exist in eternity past in isolation but in a community and fellowship with the Father and Spirit.  Jesus was with them before any thing was ever made. Every decision, every plan, every action was performed out of that intimate relationship.

c.His Divinity

“and the Word was God”. (v1) And then John explicitly refers to Jesus as God! Jesus wasn’t a created being. He Himself is God! That means Jesus is the All-Powerful, All-knowing and All-Present God. He is the Sovereign God who works out every situation and circumstance for His glory. He knows and sees the hidden intentions of our hearts. There’s no place on heaven or on earth that’s out of God’s reach. He is there everywhere!

d.His active role in Creation

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (v3)

That’s a powerful thing to say. It’s one thing to say that he helped or assisted in some parts of creation. It’s another thing to say that everything was made through Jesus and without Jesus nothing was made! When we look at the beauty of the sun rising from the east, when we look at the breathtaking view from a hill, when we look at the sky above us, when we look at the deep depths of the sea, when we look at the complexity and manner in which God has made us and stitched together our DNA – All of us have a unique DNA – when we look at all of this we realize that Jesus Christ was actively involved in creating all of this. Without him not even a single thing was made!

All of this should move our hearts to worship and honor Jesus as God! We live in an age where Christ is conveniently removed from culture and conversations. Christmas has now become X-Mas. Talking about Jesus in public is looked down upon and considered offensive in this culture. How should believers live out our faith in the midst of this? We continue to place Christ as central to every thing in life. We make Christ the centre of our marriages.

We make Christ the centre of our workplaces. We make Christ the centre of our friendships. We make Christ the centre of our entertainment. We make Christ the centre of our vacations and holidays. We make Christ the centre of our birthdays. We make Christ the centre of our worship services. We even make Christ the centre of our private moments when nobody is watching. Christ being the true God changes our worship! He’s not an ordinary human being or a figment of our imagination – He is God!

Christ is the true Light

John uses an interesting way to explain why He refers to Jesus as the true light.

a.Our necessity for the Light (v4, v7, v9)

4 In him was life,[a] and the life was the light of men.

7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

From all these verses we understand that John is stressing on one thing – we are all in darkness and are in desperate need for Light. This need is not just for those rapists and murderers but for “everyone” who has been born on the face of the earth. Apart from this Light, we will be left in darkness forever – Separated from the presence of God forever! Terrible position to be in. We need help. We need Light.

b.Our love for darkness (v10-11)

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own,[b] and his own people[c] did not receive him.

Not only do we need Light but sometimes what prevents us from coming to the Light is our love for darkness. It’s like a guy who is stuck up in a deep pit and then over a period of time gets comfortable and starts loving his environment rather than wanting to get out of it. Crazy right but that is true of our sinful hearts.

John 3:19-20 says 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

c.Our provision through Christ (v12-13)

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Because we are in desperate need of the Light & because we ourselves are saturated with sin and love darkness more, we can’t help ourselves. We need God to make a way. We need God to provide an answer to this problem. And God provides for us His own precious Son to live a perfect life and then to die as a perfect substitute for our sins. So that v12-13 would be given to us as a free gift! So that by receiving Jesus and believing that He is the Son of God and has made a way for us through His death, we can now be God’s own children!

In my last church I once heard a story mentioned by an evangelist who used to minister in the villages of Maharashtra. My previous church had a legacy of being one of the oldest churches of India believed to have its roots in the ministry of the apostle Thomas. So this evangelist once was at a mission field talking to a group of new converts talking about how our church had a 2000 year history from Thomas.

As he was talking, one of the new believers stopped him and asked honestly “Brother, I understand that you have had the gospel for 2000 years, but why did you take so long to bring it to us?” A simple yet astonishing statement to the evangelist for many years.

Brothers and sisters, this truth about Christ being our true Light is an absolute necessity for everyone to hear and know. I know sometimes we do get discouraged when people don’t respond to the Light. I get discouraged easily myself. The reason why they can’t receive the Light is because they love darkness.

They don’t even see Jesus as Light because of their blindness. But let’s not allow that to stop us from telling people about the true Light. Since Jesus is the provision, let’s trust that God is the One who causes the spiritual birth in people’s hearts.

When we tell people about the Light, it’s not as though we are selling Jesus or a religion. We are pointing them to the true Light who will save them. That’s why we need to always accompany our evangelism by being on our knees. It’s Jesus who shines among the darkness and darkness cannot overcome Him.

Christ is the true Revelation

a.He is God incarnate (v14a)

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us

All of us have similarly at some point or the other said something like this “You don’t know what I’m going through”. “It’s easier to say that from the position that you’re in”. That idea that if someone hasn’t been in your shoes, he won’t empathize with you is there in all of us. Now let’s think about what Jesus Christ did. He became flesh – he took on the form of us as a human being & endured every possible temptation and suffering that we go through yet without sin.

So we cannot say that God doesn’t understand – because Jesus lived in a fallen world among fallen people just like us. Talk about identifying and empathizing with us…Jesus takes it to the next level. The other thing that’s super encouraging is God’s pursuit to dwell with us – to stay with us. Even though he is the pre-existent, creator God – he doesn’t want to be disconnected and far from us…he desires an intimate relationship with us and He’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that He can dwell among us.

b.He fully reveals God to us (v16)

16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.[e] 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God,[f] who is at the Father’s side,[g] he has made him known.

Not only does Jesus identify with us by becoming like us and dwelling with us but He fully and completely reveals God to us. The full grace of God was poured out on us through Jesus Christ. Till then people understood God as a rule book keeper through the law, but through Christ we can now know see the length and breadth of God’s grace – and understand that there is no end! And it’s not in a sense where God’s grace is a cheap thing.

It came at the highest cost – the death of Jesus to now give us grace. And the best benefit of this grace – knowing God through the face of Jesus. No longer do we need a prophet to tell us who God is, we don’t need any signs to reveal something about God…we have God’s own Son Jesus who tells us everything about Him. How does he do that? Through the written Word.

 I really think this should open our hearts to trust Jesus more and more. The truth about Jesus being God incarnate and fully revealing the heart, mind and person of God to us should allow us to trust God in situations and decisions that we struggle with. Jesus is totally for you and not against you. You don’t have to feel insecure about situations or people or decisions in your life.

Categories
Mark Sermon

Love is the Commandment – Mark 12:28-34

Good Morning!

Let’s turn and read our passage from Mark 12:28-34.

[READ]

If you’re tracking with us as we’ve been preaching through the Gospel of Mark, you will remember that we are in that part of the story where Jesus is in Jerusalem, the very place where He will be hanged on the cross for the sake of OUR SINS.

If you are new here, you must be wondering how Jesus was supposed to be hanged on the cross more than 2000 years ago for OUR SIN? So let me clarify that and give you the context before I move ahead into this passage.

The story goes like this – When God created the heaven, earth, animals, birds, fishes and trees he also created us and unlike other animals and birds he created us uniquely. The Bible tells us that God created us in his image and likeness, and he gave us a free will so that we willingly offer ourselves to him and enjoy the relationship.

But there was one condition,and the condition was that we live under his authority and his dominion because he made us he had all the right to demand that from us. But instead of living in a loving relationship with God, the first man and women, Adam and Eve,disobeyed God’s Holy laws and failed to live under His authority. They Sinned,and their relationship with God was broken.

Since then everyone born on this earth is born sinful, no one teaches us to cheat, bite, lie and rebel, we are born with those qualities. Why? Because we are born sinful.

The reason our world is corrupt is because we are corrupt. We live in brokenness because our relationship with our creator God is broken and no matter how hard man tries to please God, he never succeeds.

But the Bible tells us that God so loved us that he sent his Son Jesus to live an obedient life and SINLESS life on our behalf, take all the penalty of our Sin on himself and die a terrible death on our behalf so that we can be forgiven, and our relationship with God can be restored back by doing two things – Repenting and Believing in his son Jesus.

Jesus died and was buried for three days, after which he rose again from the dead, defeated sin and death and giving us an abundant life. A life full of joy, peace and satisfaction.

The passage we are looking at today are the last days of Jesus on the earth. His mission on earth is almost coming to an end, and very soon he will be handed over to the Roman authorities to be punished, tortured and killed. 

He was not punished because of any crime he did, but because he claimed to be the Son of God and he spoke against the hypocrisy of the so-called religious leaders, which they did not like it.

As Jesus is about to depart the Earth, instead of a send-off party, the end days of his time on earth seems to be filled with more conflicts and unpleasant confrontations with the religious folks who should have understood him and his words better than others. Pharisees, Sadducees and the Scribes who were considered to be scholars of scriptures. They should have known the numerous prophecies in the scriptures that indicated the coming of the Son of God and his death.

But as Jinson pointed outlast Sunday these men knew the Scriptures very well but failed to understand God – They failed to receive the Truth of God and failed to believe in the Power of God. But the greatest loss I think was that they failed to enjoy the moment of standing right before the Son the God, the only one who had the power to redeem their souls from eternal death, they missed the opportunity of worshiping their saviour face to face.

In today’s passage, a teacher of the law asks Jesus a question to test him.       
“Which commandment is the most important of all?” he asked.

And Jesus replies “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

I like how Jesus uses every opportunity to give them and us a glimpse of His Kingdom, and in doing so, he also informs us how as children we need to conduct our lives on this earth that reflects His Kingdom.

Once we’re joined back into a loving relationship with God when we repent of our sins and believe in his son Jesus, he calls us to live a Kingdom-minded life.

And it firstly begins by loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. And secondly by loving our neighbour as ourselves.

Love is the greatest commandment of all.

In man-made religions, people are called to offer sacrifices and do good works so they can please their earthly god. Have you noticed that none of the religions in this world approaches or refers their god with a loving relationship?

In all other religion, God is portrayed as someone who is sitting at the top of the mountain, and people are asked to find their way to reach him. – Which is absolutely impossible, because no matter how hard we try, forsake family and the world, live alone in the forest, we will never be able to reach God.

It is only the Bible that tells us that God came down for us in the form of a human and lived among us so that we can know him, relate with him and eventually love him.

After all that he has done for us, our true and living God desires that we love Him with everything we have.

To love with all our heart means to love from within, from the bottom of our heart. Not a superficial love but a real and genuine Love. 

To love with all our soul means to love with our whole being, our words, our actions, our act of worship.

To love with all our strength means to love him with all that we possess.

But why is loving God important?

1. Because when we love God we enjoy His sustaining favor

Deut 7:9 – Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

Even though we are forgiven,loved and bound together in a relationship with God we still continue to live in our mortal bodies. There will be a battle within us all the time to sin and give ourselves to our fleshly desires. The Bible calls it a spiritual warfare.

Here’s how Apostle Paul describes it in Romans 7:18-25

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right,but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

At work, the office, in our neighbourhood, through phone, through television – we are constantly bombarded with lustful thoughts and our flesh always pushing us into that direction all the time.

The only way we can fight these thoughts, desires, habits is by constantly loving God with all our heart,mind, soul and strength, by doing that he pours out his sustaining grace and favour to protect our hearts from giving into fleshly desires.

2. The second reason why loving God is important is because when we love him we enjoy His goodness.

Romans 8:28 – And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

The Christian walk is not an easy one. Following Jesus will call for many troubles in our lives. Suffering will be a constant companion in our lives. It may come to you in the form of persecution from our family and friends, or it may come to you in the form of sickness and other health issues.

Matt 10:22 – You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Matt 5:11-12 – Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

When we go through sufferings for the sake of Christ the only thing that will give us relief is His goodness cover our lives. And we enjoy his Goodness only when we love him with all our heart, sound, mind & strength.

3. When we love God the most,we love others the best

I realised that in fulling the first command which is to love God, we automatically place ourselves in a position where all the other commandments become easy.

When we experience God’s love and forgiveness, it overflows from our lives, in such a way that it reaches out to others.

If loving God is the most  important command, and if by loving God we experience his sustaining grace and favour, his goodness and a motivation to obey all other commandments. What is it that stops us from doing so?

Laziness? Pride? Time?Distractions?

Let’s humble ourselves before God and allow his Spirit to reveal the areas in our lives that stop us from loving him with all our heart, mind, soul an strength.

Categories
Mark Sermon

What Stops us from Understanding God? – Mark 12:18-27

Goodmorning church! As a church we have been studying through the gospel of Mark& right now we find ourselves in Mark chapter 12 verses 18.

As you are turning to it, let me remind us of the context of our passage. These are the final parts of Jesus’ journey toward the cross. Jesus met with more and more hostility as we’ve been seeing in the last few chapters.

The Jewish religious leaders almost in every chapter are planning and plotting to kill Jesus from this point. The only thing that restrains them is their fear of man.

Last week we were read of how the Pharisees and Herodians were trying to trap Jesus with a question and today we find another group called the Sadducee’s who are trying to argue with Jesus. Let’s look at the text Mark 12:18-27 Read:

Have you ever shared a similar experience where you get onto a rickshaw and even before you say word, the rickshaw driver starts a full-blown conversation in his local language? I’ve had this experience a few times where the rickshaw driver assumes I know Marathi and starts speaking.

Probably 2 minutes into the conversation I usually interject and say “I’m sorry I don’t speak Marathi. Can we switch to Hindi?” Now I’m sure the rickshaw driver is saying some great stuff but my inability to understand his language makes it difficult to understand him.

I believe sometimes in our Christian walk we can similarly have issues understanding God due to our inability.

However, in this case God has made His Word plain to us – we have the Bible available in our own local languages but we still don’t understand him because there are some things that stop us from doing that?

What stops us from understanding God?

I think it means at least two things from this passage:

  1. Failure to receive the truth of God
  2. Failure to believe in the power of God

Failure to receive the truth of God

24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?

Let’s understand a little bit more about the Sadducee’s. The Sadducee’s were a group religious Jews during Jesus’ time.

The word “Sadducee’s” literally means “the righteous”! Unlike the Pharisees they rejected the extra oral tradition and only considered the written law to be from God. They denied these doctrines as well:

  • Theresurrection of the body which we also see in v18
  • Theimmortality of the soul
  • Evidenceof spirits and angels
  • Divinepre-destination (God would pre-determine and elect people those who wouldbelieve in Him). So basically they would have a lot of issues with Calvinists! 😉

And they come to Jesus asking Jesus trying to confuse or trap him with some questions because it’s obvious that they don’t believe in the resurrection.

Now the law that Moses gave them required the deceased husband’s brother to marry the widow in a case if she didn’t have a child. This was done in order to protect the widow & provide descendants for the deceased man. 

So they tell Jesus a scenario where there were 7 brothers – the first one died and his widow was left without the child. The second brother married her but he also died without a child. 

And finally all 7 died without a child and the widow herself died. So in the afterlife whose wife is she going to be? And Jesus’ answer to them is that they don’t know the Scriptures! Why did Jesus say that?

It’s because the OT has been quite clear on the topic of resurrection. Sometimes we think that only the NT talks about resurrection when in fact the OT has some very clear verses on the same.

Isa 26:19 : Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
  You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For your dew is a dew of light, 
   and the earth will give birth to the dead.

Psalm 71:20 : You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
       will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
        you will bring me up again.

These passages were available and present in their written law but still you find them be more interested in using Scripture to argue with Jesus rather than know God.

Scripture is merely being used as a tool for selfish gain rather than a means to know God! And that’s what I think Jesus was referring to. Okay, then what does it actually mean to receive the truth of God? How can I know if I’m actually using Scripture to know God?

a.Accept the whole counsel of God

God’s Word is God’s clear revelation to us. We need to be prepared to accept it completely. Not in parts. Not by cherry picking the favorite verses that we like. The ones that makes us feel sweet and loved.

Which means that we don’t just read and meditate on Psalms like May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us (Psalm 67:1) but we also meditate on passages like

Luke 9:23: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

So we accept the whole counsel of God even when it hits directly at the sin of our hearts, we accept the whole counsel of God even when it makes us feel uncomfortable,we accept the whole counsel of God even when talks about suffering for the sake of Christ.

That’s why as a church we preach expository messages. It’s not because we have an issue with topical sermons but we believe that the whole counsel of God essential to us becoming the people that God has called us to be.

We would not be serving you well if we only preached about marriage or finances or worship. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16).  I’d encourage us to read the Bible from end to end…especially those that we find unfamiliar.

One of things that we are trying to incorporate in our discipleship groups is to cover an epistle like Colossians, an OT prophet like Malachi and a gospel book like John. Not because it’s cool and different but because we really believe that every verse, every passage, every book is an essential part of understanding the whole counsel of God.

b.Check our motivation for studying Scripture

Sometimes I think that’s one aspect that we tend to ignore when we think about studying Scripture. Even though this is absolutely important to the heart of God. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (1 Sam 16:7).

And that’s true when we tithe, sing songs of praise, disciple people, obey God commands and also study Scripture. If we are doing it reluctantly or out of pride – it doesn’t bring glory to God. Let’s ask ourselves: what’s our motivation to study Scripture?

Is to know God or Is it to show off your biblical knowledge? Is it to understand God or find affirmations from the people in church? Is it to love God or check the good Christian box? Is it to obey God or is it to somehow hope that you’ll appease God and get something from Him?

These questions I’ve found to be extremely helpful for me to analyze the condition of my heart as I’ve read the Word. And because this deals with the deep-rooted sin in my heart, I’ve perpetually needed to repent of the wrong motivations in my heart and trust in what Christ has done for me.

Both of these things – accepting the whole counsel of God and checking our motivation for studying Scripture will determine if we are in posture to receive the truth of God.

But it’snot just a failure to receive the truth of God that stops us from understanding God but it also is

Failure to believe in the power of God

24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? – v26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

Jesus goes back to the passage about the burning bush. Remember this is Moses’ first encounter with God and God introduces himself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.

Now for all the ones who love grammar – which tense is being used here? Present tense. It means that Abraham is still living in the presence of God and enjoying the covenant blessing and will one day be raised when Christ returns.

The Sadducee’s failed to believe that God was able to raise people from the dead. The issue wasn’t just about lack of knowledge but a lack of belief that the God of the Bible can actually do what He said he’ll do!

It’s one thing to know Romans 10:9 & it’s another thing to believe that God will save you!

They weren’t ready to believe that God is much bigger & powerful than they could ever imagine! All the issues they struggled with – immortality of souls, the resurrection of bodies, the existence of angels and spirits, God predestining His people – all of that was too much to grapple with.

Because it would mean that they would need to reckon with the reality of God. If God Is who He says He is in the Bible, then there’s no playing around. They will need to change their ways. And that’s what often stops people from knowing Him.

And it’snot just with the Sadducee’s, the truth is that if we honestly looked at Scripture with fresh eyes and open hearts, the God of the Bible will humble us.We will understand how small we are in comparison to God. We too are required to change our ways. We too are required to repent.

Brothers and sisters, that’s the goal of our time with Scripture. It’s an interaction with God where He speaks to us, humbles us and changes us.

If we aren’t experiencing that in our morning devotions, there might be some sin that we’ll need to repent of today and ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate our hearts so that we can experience the humility and the change that God wants to bring about.

As we read today, it’s the failure to receive the truth of God and the failure to believe the power of God that stops us from understanding God. But I don’t want to leave us with a “Ok, I’ll try better next time” message.

Some of these things like checking the motivations of our hearts and believing in the power of God cannot be automatically manufactured. Rather I wanted these things to help us identify our areas of repentance & then look to the Lord of the living to help us, forgive us and change us.

Let’s remember that the reason why the resurrection is possible is because our Lord Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again on the third Day. His resurrection makes ours possible! He commands dead people to come back to life and they do! He can do the very same thing in our hearts today.  

Categories
Mark Sermon

Render unto God what is God’s – Mark 12:13-17

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our passage for today is from Mark 12:13-17.

[READ]

We are not created to live for ourselves.

We are designed by God, in His image and for His pleasure.

I don’t know about you but for me to say that statement or say Amen to a statement like that while I am in the church comes quite easy, but when I reflect on how I live my life daily, this is not how it looks. It looks like I live for myself and for my pleasure.

But I believe this passage has challenged me to re-think about every aspect of my life and submit to the authority of God who created me in his image for his pleasure.

If you’ve been tracking with us as we are preaching through the Gospel of Mark, you will know that we are in the part where Jesus is now in Jerusalem where he will be given over to be crucified by the so-called religious leaders, the Pharisees, Sadducees and the Scribes (Teachers of the Law).

The context here is, after Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, he then goes to the temple and turns the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling pigeons, which apparently makes the religious leaders angry.

Starting from Chapter 11 verse 27 we see how these Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes and looking for opportunities to trap Jesus in his own words and give him over to the authorities to be condemned and killed.

Our passage today is one of those encounters where the Pharisees along with some Herodians try to trap Jesus in his talk. Herodians were also Jews but were part of a political party that was friendly with the Roman King Herod.

In the presence of the Herodians these Pharisees come to Jesus and ask a trick question saying “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”

Just like the taxes we pay to the Indian government to run the country, in those days they had to pay taxes to the Roman emperor Caesar, in return, the Romans built roads, homes, buildings and even provided protection from enemies.

But there was also another group of people that were called zealots who disliked the Romans, rebelled against them and never paid their taxes because they saw themselves as debtors only to the God of Israel and refused to submit under any earthly authority.

The question these Pharisees asked was a trick question because, if Jesus said “Yes, you have to pay taxes to Caesar” they would have asked then what about our allegiance to God and his authority, aren’t we supposed to surrender everything we have only to God?

And if Jesus said “No, you don’t have to pay taxes to Caesar” then the plan was to get him caught by Herodians for going against the law of the land.

To which Jesus, knowing their hypocrisy, which was, even though the Pharisees hated the Romans and didn’t like the fact that they had to pay taxes to Caesar, they still would pay their taxes to secure their position in the temple and protect their people from the Romans.

Jesus in his response actually calls out their hypocrisy by saying “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” And when they brought one, he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”

They said to him, “Caesar’s.”

Jews were forbidden to make carved images, and here they were carrying a denarius which had the image of King Caesar.

In the context of what’s happening so far, I want all of us today to see, understand and reflect on Jesus’s response to the Pharisees. I think this is where I want to spend the rest of our time, allowing the Spirit of God to speak to our hearts as we struggle to fully live a life that pleases our creator God and brings him joy.

Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.

Jesus shuts them down but he also reminds them and to us today that things that we treasure in this world are not for us to keep, it doesn’t bear the image of God and needs to be given away.

We don’t take anything from this world.

What belongs to God are the children that bear his image, that’s us, brothers and sisters.

We are not created to live for ourselves.

We are designed by God, in His image and for His pleasure.

Today, let us all ponder upon this truth.

That is what Paul writes in Romans 12:1-2

I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what the will of God is, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

What does it practically mean to render our lives to God? I believe Romans 12:1-2 has some practical advice for us today that will help us understand what it means to give our lives entirely to God who made us in his image for his Glory.

Reflect on God’s mercies

Paul begins by saying I appeal you brothers “.. by the mercies of God.”

Brother and sisters, once we were sinners, rebels, lived in darkness… on the way to hell. We were lost.

God has been merciful to us through the death and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus Christ, those who believe in him are justified by faith, and reconciled to God, and have the hope of everlasting joy.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

“Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:34).

It is only when we reflect on Gods mercies daily that we will see learn and appreciate the purpose of our existence.

Reflecting on God’s mercies means reflecting on the Gospel.

We have to understand that we cannot offer anything to Him unless he draws it out of us. And it only happens as we daily reflect on the Gospel, on his Love, his mercies, his forgiveness.

I was talking to a lady yesterday, and she was explaining her circumstances at home. She said her husband doesn’t show love to her children and never spends money on them because of which her children hate him and can’t stand him and often speaks rudely to their Father.

She said she keeps telling her children not respond rudely but to show love and forgiveness to him hoping that he will change, but they don’t listen. She said one day I hope they will love and forgive him.

To which I said instead of hoping that they will somehow one day love and forgive their Father you should pray that they will one day realise what true love and forgiveness is, not as the world defines it but as God had revealed it through his son Jesus.

And when they learn about true love and forgiveness and respond to God in faith, God will change their hearts and bring out the best in him, even showing love to their Father and forgive him for he has done to them.

Rendering ourselves to God means reflecting on his love and mercies all the days of our lives.

Remembering our identity in Christ.

Offer your lives in service to God

When we understand that the purpose of our lives is not to conform to the world by piling up wealth and acquiring fame. Instead, it is to live for the Glory of God who created us in his image, every aspect of our lives should become a service unto God.

It is not just the church leaders who are called to serve but all of us.

Whether at the office while you are working on your projects, whether at school or college while we are acquiring knowledge, whether at home and society while we are living out our lives in our respective communities. We ought to offer our lives as a living sacrifice in service to God, holy & acceptable to God, which is our spiritual act of Worship.

We are his children, his priests, his servants, not only when we are in church, but everywhere we go, whoever we meet. We are an ambassador for him all the time.

Rendering ourselves to God means cultivating a spirit of servanthood that is willing to serve him all the time.

Do not conform to the ways of the world

This world as we know is ruled by Satan. Paul writes in 2 Cor 4:4 “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

The weapon the enemy uses the most is Distractions, these days it is through Mobile, TV, Computers.

But as children of God, who’ve put their faith in Christ Jesus we are no longer of this world—we are no longer ruled by sin, nor are we bound by the principles of the world. Also, we are being changed into the image of Christ, causing our interest in the things of the world to become less and less as we mature in Christ.

As believers, we should be set apart from the world. This is the meaning of being holy and living a holy, righteous life—to be set apart. We are not to engage in the sinful activities the world promotes. Instead, we are to conform ourselves, and our minds, to that of Jesus Christ). This should be a daily activity and commitment.

We are to live in such a way that those outside the faith see our good deeds and our manner and know that there is something “different” about us.

We are not to immerse ourselves in what the world values, nor are we to chase after worldly pleasures. Pleasure is no longer our calling in life, as it once was, but rather the worship of God.

Rendering ourselves to God also means not to allow the world to influence our lives and choices.

That is precisely what Jesus meant when he said: “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Mark Sermon

True Authority – Mark 11:27-12:12

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Good morning church! What a joy it has been for us to be studying through the gospel of Mark. As a church we’ve enjoyed the whole process of knowing Jesus through the lens of this gospel as we study it passage by passage.

Right now we are in Mark chapter 11 verses 27. As we’ve noticed over the past few weeks, these passages are placed in the context of Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem which actually begins his journey toward the cross. Last Sunday we read how the temple needed to be cleansed.

The cleansing was required because the people & the religious leaders replaced the worship of God with self-centered gain. And Jesus by driving out the sellers and the buyers, overturning the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons showed how holiness & reverence for God was so important to God’s heart.

This didn’t go down well with the chief priests and the scribes. Interestingly this passage says that this resulted in them wanting to destroy him because they feared him. They weren’t ready or prepared to receive this Jesus Christ who literally turned their religious system and traditions upside down. This forms the context for today’s passage:

27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

12 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant[a] to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.

3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.

6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.

10 Have you not read this Scripture:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;[b]

11 this was the Lord’s doing,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.

I believe there are 3 things we can see from this passage:

  1. Struggle for authority
  2. Sinful Authority
  3. True Authority

Struggle for authority (v27-28)

So the location is the Jerusalem temple and the Top religious leaders of the time come to meet Jesus. These are not ordinary Jews – these are the pastors, theologians, worship leaders, Sunday School teachers, authors – the most learned and scripturally qualified Jews of the day.

And they ask Jesus by what authority is he doing these things? Basically, they are asking Jesus “Who gave you the right to overturn the tables of the money changers and drive out the sellers from the temple”? Who do you think you are to do this in the temple?

And who are they asking this question to? Jesus Christ. The Son of God. He was there in the beginning with God and He is God. All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made. (John 1:1-3) In Him all things hold together (Col 1:17) He is the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15) In Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Col 1:19). And yet they ask him “Who gave you this right to do this”?

And this is not a new question. It is symptomatic of man’s constant struggle to submit to God’s authority. Right from the garden of Eden man has struggled to submit to God’s authority.

When we look at Genesis 3, what was the bait given to Adam and Eve? The serpent told them that when they eat of the tree – their eyes will be opened and they will become like God, knowing good and evil.

And that’s the heart of sin…the core of sin…to take the place of God in our lives, trying to make moral decisions apart from God. In other words, Adam and Eve had this insecure desire to become their only authority over their lives. They wanted to determine for themselves what was right or wrong for their lives. They didn’t want to be dependent anymore on God.

And we know what happened when they became the authority of their lives – all of humanity was thrown into a world of brokenness and sin and death. And that nature to not want to submit to God’s authority is there in all of us.

Campus Crusade had this illustration that has been really helpful for me over the years. They had this picture of a throne seat located at the centre of an individual’s heart. All of us have a throne seat in our lives. That’s the place from where we make all our decisions and choices. Everything that we chose to do is controlled from this throne seat.

Whoever sits on that throne is the authority of our life. And then they would ask this question: who is seated on the throne seat? Is it God or is it us? Is it God or is it me? Now I know that I’m preaching to people to publicly claim to be followers of Jesus so why am I still asking this question? It’s because I’m very aware of our tendencies to enthrone ourselves as the authority in areas of our lives. Christian life is all about yielding control.

Giving back the authority to God. In this life we’ll always find ourselves with plenty of reasons to repent of those areas and turn back to Christ. Just last night when I got the call from the hall owner regarding the change of timings and venue for our Gathering, I really saw how anxious my heart was & how I was planning my responses apart from trusting God.

For me that was a reminder of how real is my struggle for authority.

Sinful authority

Not only is there a struggle for authority but when we claim authority of our lives – it is a sinful authority! When Jesus is asked the question on whose authority…he responds back by asking another question to show them what’s really hindering them from submitting to God’s authority. “Was the baptism from John from heaven or from man”?

From their responses there are two things we can see are hindering them:

Unbelief

31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ (v31)

John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. People were coming to the river Jordan confessing their sins openly and then getting baptized as a symbol of repentance expressing a 180 degree turn from sin and toward God.

In Matt 21:32 it tells us that the Pharisees and religious leaders did not believe John. In their pride they didn’t think it was necessary for them to be baptized. Tax collectors and prostitutes got baptized in front of them but still they didn’t change their mind.

In Luke 7:30, it says that the religious leaders rejected the purpose of God for themselves by not being baptized by John. Wow! That sounds like an opposite statement.

The most religious people of the day rejected the purposes of God for themselves? How is that possible? That’s because it meant that they would need to humbly accept their position as a sinner. And if they did that, they would be in the right posture to receive the provision of God – Our Savior Jesus.

We keep talking about believing in the gospel & constantly growing in belief. What does that actually mean? Is it just intellectually changing the way you think about some facts? I think what it means from this passage is constantly repenting before God about areas of your life that are against His character and will.

Unbelief at its core is a prideful position that doesn’t want to humble itself before God. And that’s why we see in Scripture…a true believer is always being aware of His sins and always repenting before God because what he desires the most is a right relationship with God.

Fear Of Man

32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.

The other motivation that hindered them from submitting to God was the fear of man. Why were these religious men afraid of the people?

  1. They feared losing their reputation. They didn’t want to be discredited for telling that John got his authority to baptize from man. It’s the question that comes to mind when we think “What will people think of me if I do that?”
  2. They feared losing control. Would they end up losing control over people if they said something controversial? Would people leave them and go somewhere else if they said something controversial? It’s the question that comes to mind when we think “Would I still be able to influence people if I did that?”

I remember back in the youth ministry days during a Youth Camp. We had something called a 4 corners talk which was a weird name because sometimes we had just 2 or 3 people. During one of my 4 corners session with a youth, I could see how he knew that he had to submit to the authority of Christ but he didn’t want to do so due to the fear of man.

He was fearful of what his friends would say. He was fearful of being called as “uncool”. And it just saddened me to see someone so close yet so far.

And the fear of man isn’t just a struggle for my young friend but it’s something that we face daily when we think of sharing the gospel with the people around us.

The fear of man is a real when we have to make decisions on whom to marry – in my lifetime I’ve seen so many professing believers who said that they wanted to marry a believer but when it actually came down to marriage – they married an unbeliever.

The fear of man is also real at our jobs when either there are conversations or decisions made which are unethical and immoral. Would you take a stand because of your faith?

True Authority

You might think that Jesus denies to answer their question on authority but Jesus infact does answer their question using a parable. He talks about a man who plants a vineyard. The man is God and the vineyard is Israel – God’s people.

Using the illustration of the wine-press, the tower and the fence – showing God’s protection and God’s provision for everything needed for them to flourish. And this vineyard was leased to tenants. Another version says he rented out the vineyard to farmers.

The farmers are the religious leaders who were supposed to steward and care for the field. And then God would send servants to get the fruit of the wine – these were the prophets. But what did the farmers do to them? They beat them, hit them, treated them shamefully and killed them.

Finally the Owner sends his beloved Son. What do the farmers do to him? They kill him thinking that the inheritance will be theirs. Again the same theme – it’s always a struggle for authority. It’s always a struggle for ownership.

Like the farmers we are stewards of the life that God has given us. What should’ve been our ideal response to God? We should submit to God and give what is His – our whole lives. What is instead our natural response? Take what is not ours and make it ours.

God reaches out to us and reminds us through various means – through our daily time with God in Scripture and prayers, through sermons or our brothers and sisters. However, it’s not enough to just do all these things – what matters is our response. So how do we respond?

In our sinful self, we are all like these murderous farmers. We are all responsible for the death of Jesus on the cross. Which is why God’s wrath and judgment is directed toward us. (v9) But the story doesn’t end in judgment. In v10 we hear the good news of Jesus:

10 Have you not read this Scripture:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;[b]

11 this was the Lord’s doing,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

God used the very same death of His Son Jesus Christ to protect you and I from being judged & destroyed forever. In doing so, he poured out all His love, all His mercy, all His compassion and His righteousness upon us! And that’s the greatest news brothers and sisters. Christ came not to condemn but to save! And that’s message that the religious leaders didn’t hear.

They perceived that the parable was about them but they failed to see the answer that Jesus Himself was going to provide. And I want us to once again think about that throne seat of ours – consider how our lives have actually been messed up by us sitting on the throne.

And now think about this Jesus – the rightful owner of our lives because He created us, the one who can enact judgment but instead gave up His life to remove judgment and set us free forever. Isn’t He the best one to sit on that throne? Let’s willingly submit to His authority.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]