Category: Sermon

IS CHURCH HISTORY IMPORTANT?

Definition: History is the branch of knowledge that records and explains past events.
Do you think that it is important to have an understanding of Church History?

Why learn Church history?

1. To be obedient

Job 8:8-10
“Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned, for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding? “

2. To understand God

Psalms 44:1
“We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago.”
Knowing the acts and ways of God in working with His people throughout history provides us with a better understanding of God Himself.

3. To keep us from error

Not knowing about the many errors in the history of the Church dooms us to repeat those failures again. Many of the heresies of the first, few centuries of the Church have surfaces once again in our times. Knowledge of those early heresies will help us to remain on the clear path of Biblical truth.

4. To understand our own time

Church History helps us to understand our own time better. The author if the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes once wrote that there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). History, in very real and concrete ways, moves in circles and cycles. A fuller understanding of our past helps us to understand how we have arrived at this point in history. It helps us to see today from God’s perspective. Church History shows us that actions and ideas have consequences not only in our own generation but future generations as well.

5. To Glorify God

The ultimate and most important reason to study Church History is that it facilitates true and extravagant worship of our God. Our hearts are filled with awe and wonder when we explore the mighty acts of God in the past. The apostle John (Revelation 4:8, NIV) recorded that in heaven four living creatures, surrounding a throne, do not stop day or night declaring the glory and holiness of God, “who was, and is, and is to come.” As we gain an appreciation of Church History we gain a greater appreciation of the Lord and how He has chosen to reveal Himself to mankind throughout the ages this increases our thankfulness to Him for not being a God who is absent and unconcerned with our lives but a God who has revealed Himself as the one who is always present and willing to act on behalf of those who call upon Him. Church History can be thought of as the study of how God has intervened in the events of mankind in order that he might redeem mankind and establish His kingdom purposes.

THE CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING OF HISTORY IS UNIQUE

A Christian understanding of history is unique for the Bible declares that in history God is working out His redemptive purposes.

Please turn to Romans 8:28-30

Can you identify from those verses what’s God purpose in History might be?To conform us to the image of His Son in order that He might be the first born among many brothers. First born meaning that He is Heir in all of God’s things! In Him, we become coheirs to God’s riches too.

Who do those verses apply to?This surely applies to all of God’s people who were, are being and will be saved. In other words “The Church”.

Now turn to 1 Peter 2:2-10

Does this verse give us any additional insights to what God’s purposes in history might be?

Verse 5 indicatesA Christian is a) Chosen by God, b) Like Living stones being built as a spiritual House, c) To be a holy priesthood, d) To offer spiritual sacrifices accepted to God through Jesus Christ.

Verse 5 says A Christian is a) A Chosen Race, b) Royal priesthood, c) A People for His own possession so that you proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Lets look at a few Heresies

1) IDOLATERS – Christians continued to worship or create idols in violation of the 2nd commandment. There were two problems here. The first was the practical use of the idols, and the second was their continued presence, merely adding Christianity to their other beliefs. Response: abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood. Acts 15:20; 1Jn. 5:21

2) NICOLAITANS – Rev. 2:6,14-15 a sect holding to the “teaching of Balaam” which upheld the freedom to eat food offered to idols. The fear was that if Christians unwittingly ate such food, purchased from the marketplace and offered to an idol by its seller, that they had desecrated the temple of their body, losing their holiness and their salvation. Response – Paul rejected that idea, asking “is that anything?” He provided a weaker-stronger brother standard in 1Cor. 8-10. This ruling upheld the freedom we have in Christ concerning food sacrificed to idols, but weighed that freedom against the temptation to new believers; its bottom line was to avoid it where possible, but not to fret if it happened. As far as the use or presence of idols, or committing fornication, Acts 15:20 is an absolute prohibition. Rev. 2:20 outright condemns intentionally eating food sacrificed to idols (participating in idolatry).

3) No Resurrection of the Dead – 1Cor. 15:12 Response: if Christ is not raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. If we have existence in Christ only in this life, we are the most miserable of all men. (v. 17,19) There is a resurrection, but it already took place – spiritually – 2Tim 2:16-18 Hymenaeus and Philetus… have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. We expect a physical resurrection of the bodies of all men at Christ’s return, some to eternal glory, the rest to eternal damnation. (Dan. 12:2; 1Cor 15:23,42,52; 2Cor 5:10)

4) Easy-Believism – this is a belief that because we are under grace, obedience is optional. Our freedom in Christ, our forgiven state, becomes a license to sin. Response: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, who are dead to sin, live in it any longer? Rom. 6:1,2. Don’t you know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be misled: neither the immoral, idolaters, adulterers, the corrupt, the effeminate [man-boy sex], homosexuals, extortionists, thieves, drunkards, the pugnacious, nor defrauders will inherit the kingdom of God. 1Cor. 6:9,10.

5) JUDAISM – 1. Circumcision is a prerequisite to salvation for men. 2. Obedience to Jewish Law is necessary including Sabbath and Kosher requirements. Response: 1. It denies salvation by faith through Christ’s Atoning sacrifice. 2. It undermines obedience inspired by love and thankfulness rather than reward. If some one asks you how are the Old Testament saints saved. Well lets look at 1 Peter 1 :8-11. So they are saved awaiting a messiah (Christ) who was supposed to come and we are saved by trusting the messiah who came 2000 years back.

6) Roman Catholic Church: It claims to be the true church. Mary is venerated in the Catholic Church as Queen of Heaven and honored in numerous Marian devotions. Basically, salvation is attained through sacraments and good works. It is maintained by good works and participation in the sacraments. We know as the Bible says 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast. So none of us are ever saved by any works.

Additionaly we surely believe the following

Sola Scriptura – the standard of truth is the Bible alone, not the church, not the Pope
• Solus Christus – salvation is by Christ alone, not by sacraments, not by priests
• Sola Gratia – salvation is by grace alone, not by works, not by penance
• Sola Fide – salvation is by faith alone, not by faith plus anything else
• Soli Deo Gloria – everything we do is for the Glory of God alone; everything that has been done for us by God is for God’s glory alone; nothing we do merits God’s grace.

The Gospel as concluded by the puritan Jeremiah Burroughs

The gospel of Christ is the good tidings that God has revealed concerning Christ. As all mankind was lost in Adam and became the children of wrath, put under the sentence of death, God, though He left His fallen angels and has reserved them in the chains of eternal darkness, yet He has thought upon the children of men and has provided a way of atonement to reconcile them to Himself again.

The second Person in the Trinity takes man’s nature upon Himself, and becomes the Head of a second covenant, standing charged with sin. He answers for it by suffering what the law and divine justice required, and by making satisfaction for keeping the law perfectly. This satisfaction and righteousness He tenders up to the Father as a sweet savor of rest for the souls that are given to Him.

And now this mediation of Christ is, by the appointment of the Father, preached to the children of men, of whatever nation or rank, freely offering this atonement unto sinners for atonement, requiring them to believe in Him and, upon believing, promising not only a discharge of all their former sins, but that they shall not enter into condemnation, that none of their sins or unworthiness shall ever hinder the peace of God with them, but that they shall through Him be received into the number of those who shall have the image of God again to be renewed unto them, and that they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

CONCLUSION

History teaches us that a person who has a deep devotional life before the Lord is characterized by

1) An intense love towards the Lord and His people. 2) A life that is lived out in dependence upon God, results in a joyful heartfelt freedom. 3) A desire to reflect Jesus and proclaim His Truth with Love 4) An assurance that the kingdom of God can be realized in history and the Lord works in all circumstances to bring about His purposes in the way that He desires. 5) Humility 6) Every person encountered by the Christian is seen as a potential brother or sister in Christ. 7) Devotion is not escaping the world but rather through worship of the Lord they are motivated to serve by bettering the world. 8) They are salt and light to the world.

As you all know that we are doing a series on ‘The Church’. We started the series by discovering our Identity as a Church Community – We learnt that we are a Covenant people, redeemed by the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, holy and blameless in the sight of God because of Christ, a people with a purpose to glorify God in our words, deeds and actions. And the bible says that there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from this love of Christ.

Last Sunday we stopped at the Book of Revelation chapter 2 and 3 and started looking at Christ’s letters to the 7 churches which he gave to Apostle John while he was exiled in the island of Patmos.

When we read Jesus’s comments to these churches we realize how messed up their lives were.

Jesus continues to lovingly pursue and convict us of our sins and wrong doings

But the fascinating thing is Jesus still calls them his church and addresses them as his people. It tells us that yes it possible to be a church of Jesus and yet live a completely messed up lives and one that looks hopeless.

The good news is that Jesus still continues to lovingly pursue and convict us of our sins and wrong doings. And that has been the nature of God from the beginning. We learned this about God while we did an expository preaching through the book of Nehemiah. Even though the people of God rebelled against him and abandoned him God still came to their rescue for the sake of his name.

The failure of God’s people is never because God abandons us but because we abandoned God – It is our sinful nature and unrepentant heart that draws us away from Him.

Instead of deepening our relationship with Jesus by allowing the gospel to govern our lives we tend to lean more towards the pleasures and deceitfulness of this world.

These words of Jesus to the seven churches reminds us that he still calls us his own and lovingly pursues us and convicts us of our sins. Therefore when we hear these words of Jesus and humbly submit to them and walk in obedience to his words he promises us …

– To give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (Rev 2:7)
– To give the crown of life (Rev 2:10) and also promises in verse 11 that he will not be hurt by the second death.
– In Rev 2:17 he promises to give some of the hidden manna
– Rev 2:26 – Authority over nations
– Rev 3:5 – Clothed with white garments and will never take away our name out of the book of life
– Rev 3:12 – Will make us a pillar in the temple of God
– Rev 3:21 – Grant us to sit with him on his throne

At the same time he also warns those who are unrepentant. He says

– Rev 2:5 – I will remove your lampstand from its place
– Rev 2:11 – I will war against you with the sword of my mouth
– Rev 2:22 – I will throw you into great tribulation and give according to your works
– Rev 3:3 – I will come like a thief against you
– Rev 3:16 – I will spit you out of my mouth

Last week we looked at 3 letters to 3 churches.

• To the church in Ephesus he says return to your first love – Love the Lord with all their heart, mind and soul.
• To the church in Smyrna he says be faithful unto death even in your sufferings and tribulations
• To the church of Pergumam he says stay away from idol worship and sexual immorality

Church in Thyatira

Today we will briefly look at the rest of the 4 churches beginning with the church of Thyatira.

[READ 2:18-29]

Jesus begins by complimenting them from their love, faith, service and patient endurance. Everything seems perfect – Everything that was missing in the previous three churches is present here – There is love, they are faithful and have patient endurance.

But they missed one quality that the church of Ephesus exhibited – And that was testing and identifying false apostles among them.

Jesus’s charge against the church of Thyatira was that they were tolerating a woman called Jezebel, who called herself to be a prophetess but was teaching and seducing God’s servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. Jesus even gave her time to repent but she refused to repent of her sexual immorality.

Jesus warns them by saying in 2:22-23 “I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.”

Basically, the church failed to stand against an ungodly spirit who was leading God’s people astray especially the leaders.

Yes, we are good and loving people by nature. We are even harmless as doves. But in Matthew 10:16 Jesus tells his disciples “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

As a church we shouldn’t lack in the ability to show courage in standing up for what is right and scriptural, we have to stand up and speak up against those who lead the people of God astray and into sin and idolatry.

In most churches there is this unsaid rule that people should keep their mouth shut and not raise fingers even if the people are led astray into sin and deceit.

I believe the Bible encourages us to speak up against false teaching but it needs to be done in an orderly manner. In fact at one occasion Apostle Paul points and corrects the hypocritical attitude of Apostle Peter in public, you can read the account in Galatians 2.

And if you fail to do so then remember Jesus will hold that up against you just as he did with the church of Thyatira.

Church in Sardis

[READ 3:1-6]

Jesus quickly and clearly condemns the lifeless state of the Sardian church: “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead” (Revelation 3:2).

This church may have had a good reputation, but they were spiritually lifeless. In other words, the church was filled with unsaved people going through the motions of religion.

It is one thing to know the truth of the gospel and profess it with our mouth but living it out in our daily lives is something that we should desire and pursue.

After hearing about the church of Sardis the question I want us to ask ourselves today is

As a Christian..

– Are we truly enjoying the fullness of joy that comes from knowing Jesus or is it just a superficial thing that we experience only on a Sunday morning?
– Do we experience the peace of God in our heart when we think about the promise of the glorious gospel even in times of struggles and sufferings?
– Do we hide ourselves behind a happy and cheerful face for the sake of good reputation and not willing to admit that our actual life is dead and lifeless?

If our answer to any of these question is ‘yes’ then Jesus calls us to repent of our sin: “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you received and heard; obey it, and repent” (Revelation 3:2-3a).

To “wake up” means to start paying attention to your need of salvation, to stop being careless about your heart’s condition before God.

Church of Philadelphia

[READ 3:7-13]

The church of Philadelphia is the only church against whom Jesus did not have anything negative to say.
Jesus affirms the church’s positive actions: “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name” (Revelation 3:8).

The church of Philadelphia was weak in some respects, yet they had remained faithful in the face of trial. Because of this, the Lord promises them an “open door” of blessing.

Jesus’ letter then condemns the enemies of the Philadelphian believers: “I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9).

Those who persecuted the believers (the persecutors were religious hypocrites in this case) would one day realize Christ loves His children. The church of Philadelphia would be victorious over its enemies.

Church of Laodicea

[READ 3:14-22]

In contrast to the other six churches, the Laodicean church has nothing to commend it. Jesus begins the message with condemnation: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:15-17).

They claimed to be rich, blessed and self-sufficient. Perhaps they were rich in material things. But, spiritually, the Laodiceans were in a wretched, pitiful condition, made all the worse in that they could not see their need. This was a church filled with self-deceived hypocrites.

Jesus calls the Laodicean church to repent of its sin: “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see” (Revelation 3:18). Their material wealth had no eternal benefit, so Jesus commands them to come to Him for true, spiritual riches (see Isaiah 55:1-2). Only Christ can supply an everlasting inheritance, clothe us in righteousness, and heal our spiritual blindness.

Jesus then notes His concern for His church in Laodicea: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:19-20). His rebuke is not born of animosity but of love. “The Lord disciplines those he loves” (Hebrews 12:6).

The church is nominally Christian, but Christ Himself has been locked out. Rather than turn His back on them, He knocks, seeking someone to acknowledge the church’s need and open the door. If they would repent, Jesus would come in and take His rightful place in the church.

Last week we started a four-week series on ‘The Church’ and we unpacked our true identity as the Church community from the book of Hebrews chapter 8. Like I said everything starts on a right note when we know and understand our true identity as a Church.

We learnt that we are a covenant community knit together as a body of Christ, not on the basis of the old testament laws but because our faith in Christ Jesus.

In Hebrews 8:6 the author points to Christ as the one who obtained a ministry that is as more excellent than the old covenant, enacted on better promise

Christ has obtained everything needed for us to relate back to God and we don’t have to please God in our own efforts.

Under this new identity we recognize that Christ has obtained everything needed for us to relate back to God and that we don’t have to please God in our own efforts. This identity is given to us so that we declare the goodness of Him and live for his glory. And last but not the least we learned to stay humble and remind ourselves daily that we are mercied by God through Christ and we need to allow this gospel truth to govern our lives.

Today morning we will look into a very interesting book in the Bible called the book of Revelation, and particularly chapter 2 & 3. I believe these two chapters have a lot to say to us about Church life. It will unpack for us Christ’s expectations from us as a church community.

The book of Revelation is actually a revelation of Christ to Apostle John while he was in an island called Patmos where he was exiled (banished/punished). The island of Patmos was the most uncomfortable, lonely and horrible place where John happen to see the vision of Jesus and heard him talk.

The purpose of this book was to comfort and encourage believers in the midst of suffering and persecution at the hands of evil ones by assuring them that Jesus Christ, and they themselves, will ultimately and finally triumph.

In Revelation 1:12-20 John writes a beautiful description of his encounter with Jesus.

He writes “I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

In chapter 2 & 3 Jesus goes on to address the seven churches and tells them certain things which I believe can help us understanding God’s heart and His expectation from his people. And I hope you are ready to hear them out, not just for knowledge sake but to allow the spirit of God to enlighten our hearts with his truth and live a life worthy of his calling.

Before we begin looking at these verses let me also remind you that even though we as a group of churches across the globe have the same faith and calling, we still differ with respect to our cultural context, our backgrounds and the challenges we face, and that’s exactly what you will see in these seven churches. Each of them are unique and have their own set of good and bad.

I believe this understanding should help us identity our own cultural challenges and apply the word of God accordingly.

This Sunday we will look at the first three churches followed by the rest four next week.

So, here we go

Church of Ephesus

The first church Jesus addresses is the Church of Ephesus (2:1-7)

Let’s start with the compliments

1. Jesus commends them for their toil and patient endurance – The first impression it gives me is that they obviously seem to be hard working people.
2. They stay away from people who do evil, especially the ones who call themselves apostles but are not.
3. For not growing weary and patiently enduring and bearing up for the sake of his name.

But then in verse 4 Jesus goes on to say “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

This reveals to us God’s first expectation from his church

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Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul

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The saints in Ephesus were not being obedient to the central truth of the Scriptures Old and New Testament which is Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul. (Matthew 22:37)

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The saints in Ephesus were not being obedient to the central truth of the Scriptures Old and New Testament which is Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul. (Matthew 22:37)

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Their lives were clogged with so many things that Jesus was no longer first in their hearts, in their daily schedules, in their thoughts which clearly signals that Jesus was no longer the King of their lives.

Here Jesus is telling them to press the reset button and go back to their original settings when they started off.
I don’t know how you feel about these words of Jesus but I want to confess that in the past couple of weeks I’ve been far away from loving Jesus more than I should. Even though I can hide from all of you I cannot hide from my wife. She knows how frustrated, angry and disappointed I was the last one week. The reason I believe is clear – My love for Jesus has not been the same.

But I also believe God in his mercy has revealed my heart condition and led me to repent and ask for forgiveness.

Today as we hear these words where do we find yourself? Are we too busy to even take out time and search our hearts?

Jesus paid the highest price by dying on the cross for our sins.
Hebrews 12:2 says Jesus endured the cross with joy, scorning its shame.

He loves us beyond measure because we are his creation
John 15:13 says “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

And that’s is exactly what Jesus did for us.

In return he expects that we love him back and be willing to give away everything and anything that we hold dear in our lives. Whether it is our love for money, desire for comfort, our longings for the pleasure of this world.
It is quite a sad thing when everything around our lives revolves around work, making money & pleasing people – when it should be the other way around.

We fail to realize that the satisfaction and fulfillment we are hoping to receive from the things of the world is false idea. Only Jesus can satisfy us and fulfill our deepest longings.

Q: Are we willing to love him more – and love him first?

Romans 12:9 – Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

I want to encourage you this morning if you feel your hearts not in the right place go to God, repent of your sin and make a decision to love him more.

Church of Smyrna

The second church Jesus talks to is the Church of Smyrna (2:8-11)

You see this church in comparison to the church in Ephesus is quite different culturally.

They are a poor church with many tribulations and sufferings.

People have been talking bad about them and putting false accusations

Jesus’s comforting words to them is “Do not fear what you are about to suffer” – “You are been tested”

And Jesus’s instruction to them is “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life”

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“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life”

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Last to last Sunday Pastor Jeff preached a sermon on “The Mission of God through the suffering of his people”. He explained how God uses our present sufferings to advance his gospel.

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Unlike what we’ve heard from the prosperity preachers who talk about pursuing a life of comfort and riches. The bible has a completely different take on it. Jesus himself said in John 15:20 “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also”.

When we encounter suffering and pain in our lives the tendency of many of us is to close the door on Jesus and sulk in our depravity. We stop loving Jesus and stop serving him.

I feel sad to see many Christians in this condition. The devil has taken away their joy and filled their hearts with bitterness and anger.

Jesus’s words to us who suffer is “Do not fear what you are about to suffer” … rather continue to be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Remember, we’re not chasing an earthly reward – we might see and experience his goodness on earth or we might not experience his goodness on earth. Think of the numerous number of people who gave their lives for the sake of the gospel. What do you think they were chasing after? They died a miserable death on this earth for the sake of the kingdom.

Jesus was their greatest reward. They fixed their eyes on the crown of life they will receive from Jesus in heaven.
On the basis on these verses my encouragement to all of us is don’t give in to your present sufferings rather be faithful to God in what God has called you into irrespective of the pain and suffering you are experiencing at this very moment.

Church of Pergamum

The third church Jesus addresses is the church of Pergamum [2:12-17]

According to these verses we understand that the church of Pergamum is located in a very dark and satanic place.
Jesus compliments them by saying “Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith”

The description of this place reminded me of the area in malad where Jane and I have been discipling a catholic family “Joseph & ArokyaMary”. Last monday the family invited another two ladies to join us for prayer and bible study.

After we finished we started talking to one of the ladies and she started pouring heart out saying her husband works in gulf and both her children are married and gone away. She lives in her home all alone and every night a spirit in the form of a young girl visits her and talks to her. After talking for a while she then tries to kill her by chocking her throat and pressing her stomach.

When we heard her story and started talking to her we realized the strong hold of idols in their lives.

Jesus while talking to the church in Pergamum identifies these strong holds and says “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.”

I won’t go into the details of the teaching of Balaam but it is mainly to do with Idol worship & sexual immorality.
Jesus’s expectation from his church is to refrain from any kind of idolatry and sexual immorality.

Idols not just in the form of mud and clay, but heart idols that cause us to stumble and stop us from worshipping Jesus.

Sexual immorality is another rampant sin in our culture. With our current exposure to information and whatever else we need. Our society has been contaminated, our children’s future is in danger.

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And therefore as a true church of Jesus our choices and our obedience to God’s word is the only hope for this dying world around us. Our children’s future depends on the choices we make in favour of God.

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“Our choices and our obedience to God’s word is the only hope for this dying world around us”

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And therefore as a true church of Jesus our choices and our obedience to God’s word is the only hope for this dying world around us. Our children’s future depends on the choices we make in favour of God.

1 Corinthians 6:18 Paul writes “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.”

In the light of what we heard today I want to urge you to come together as one body and re-commit our lives to Jesus once again.

Where do you see yourself falling apart from God’s calling over your lives.
Do you think your love for Jesus has become cold?
Do you see yourself sulking in depravity before of the current sufferings and pain?
Do you see the strong hold of Idols in your lives? Or
Do you see the sin of sexual immorality taking away your joy being a Christ follower.

If any of the above is true, then we need to repent and ask for forgiveness.

I believe our God is a forgiving God, a father who loves us dearly. More than us he wants to see us flourish and rejoice in him and take hold of the crown of life when we reach heaven.

2016 was an exciting and adventurous year for all of us and I believe this year will also bring a lot of surprises. I’m personally hoping and praying to see some more marriages happen this year and the possibility of planting a new church as the Lord leads us.

Coming to today’s sermon as you all know that we love to do expository preaching through the books of the bible which we believe to be most beneficial for the body of Christ. Last year we studied and preached through the book of Nehemiah for 7 months (April to October) followed by a short series on Mission which we did along with our family of churches.

The next book we will look into is 1 Timothy but we will start the series from the first week of February.

Meanwhile for the next couple of Sundays the leaders at The Gathering felt God leading us to do a series on The Church.

As we begin this new year we thought it would be great for us to look and understand what the scripture has to say about the true church of Jesus Christ.

We live in a generation where people have different ideas about church, these ideas are formed because of the influence of society, people, culture, needs, history etc.

Let me give you some examples:

• Some think of church as a building with a cross on it where people go to find peace.
• Some think of it as a place where people gather to sing godly songs to rejuvenate their minds
• Some think of church as a place where their needs are met, whether financial, mental or emotional
• Some think of church as a place to build network, make friends and have fun

But when we read and investigate the scriptures we realize that church is much more than what we have made of it. And in the next couple of Sundays that’s exactly what we will be doing.

We will read and remind ourselves of what the true church of Jesus should look like.

And we will begin our journey today by firstly finding our identity as a church.

Who are we as a Church?
What does the Bible say about our identity as a Church community?

Our passage for today is Hebrews 8. (Please turn with me to the book of Hebrews 8)

In this passage the writer is presenting Jesus as the High Priest of a Better Covenant and therefore addresses us as a people of the new covenant in Christ, which in fact is our identity as a church. We are a covenant community.

But what does the word ‘Covenant’ really mean and why is there an old covenant and a new covenant mentioned in this passage.

It might sound a bit complicated to you in the beginning but I will try my best to simplify and explain it better. So please do hang on with me.

To start with, let us first understand the meaning of the word ‘Covenant’. This word is not very commonly used in our culture. We’ve probably heard the synonyms of this word.

Like for example ‘Agreement’, ‘Commitment’, ‘Deed’, ‘Treaty’ etc but I believe the word ‘Covenant’ has a much deeper meaning and none of these synonyms justify that.

Here’s what I mean by that.

Like for example the word ‘agreement’ is often used to describe an arrangement between two or more people to do or not to do something specific. An agreement can have an expiry date and can be broken anytime with mutual consent.

Wherein the word ‘Covenant’ is always used in context with God to describe a conditional promise/promises made by God to his people. And unlike an agreement a covenant is irrevocable because the conditions are laid down by God and we cannot amend them.

The Old Covenant was a conditional or bilateral agreement that God made with the Israelite’s. The Old Covenant was in effect during the dispensation of the Law that was given to Moses, the ten commandments been the center of all others laws.

The amazing thing about the 10 commandments is no matter what faith and religious background you come from these commands which were given to Israelite’s thousands and thousands of years back will resonate in your mind even today. These are still the norms in many religious beliefs to attain a perfect life pleasing to God.

Listen to them. (Exodus 20:2-17)

1. You shall have no other God before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness that is in heaven above, or that in the earth beneath.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.
4. Remember the day of rest and keep it holy.
5. Honour your father and mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
10. You shall not covet your neighbour’s house.

In the Old Covenant, the Israelites were required to obey God and keep the Law, and in return God protected and blessed them. The Old Covenant required repeated, daily sacrifices of animals as a reminder of the people’s sin. Under the Old Covenant, only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place where God’s presence dwelt—and that only once a year. The Old Covenant was a set of “external regulations”.

This understanding presents God as someone who is really mean and unreachable which is exactly how people perceive him to be even today. Isn’t it?

People think..

– they need to do good things in order to please God
– they need to offer sacrifices and offerings so that God can forgive me
– they need to visit the church/temple/mosque as often as I can so that God can protect and provide for me

The truth is that God’s intention for giving us these laws were not to press us down or make us feel miserable rather as it is written in Hebrews 8:5 these were a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. The laws were meant to point us to the standard of Gods holiness and reminds us of our sinfulness.

These commands were not just meant to be external activities but a heart condition. In Matthew 5:27-28 Jesus says “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Knowingly or unknowingly we all end up doing things and trying to please God with all the external activities. You take any world religion for example including the Christianity, it’s all about rules and regulations, do’s and don’ts, practices and rituals that are just meant to exhaust us and lead us nowhere.

Verse 7 and 8 says

“ For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says ..”

Verse 9 – “For they did not continue in my covenant”

You see the fault is not in the covenant or in the law per SE, the verse suggest that the fault is with us, the sinful human heart.

You see our sinful heart is so sinful that no matter how hard we try we can never please God. Because God’s standard of holiness is way above our reach.

And that is exactly why verse 6 of Hebrews 8 is a good news to all of us.

“But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.”

Remember, this good news is not just for Christians, but for people from all background, faith and religious belief’s. Christ is the answer to man’s deepest need. The search for peace, fulfillment, satisfaction, salvation ends when you encounter Christ.

God presented these moral laws to reveal our immorality and then provides and answer through the sacrifice of His only begotten son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The Bible says in John 3:16 that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Which means fulfilling the requirements of the old covenant or the laws are no more the norms to please God and win his favor.

Christ fulfilled the law for us by living a perfect life and dying on our behalf for all our sinfulness.

And therefore, believing this truth and putting our faith in Christ is the new norm to please God.

And that is why the writer of Hebrews in verse 8 says “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.”

And this is the new covenant that we are called into.

Does that mean that we no more obey the commandments in the Old testament?

No – We must obey the OT commandments the same way we obey the NT commandments—not in order to win God’s favor. We have already won his favor by putting our trust in his son Jesus.
We obey because we depend on his free grace and trust that his commands will lead to full and lasting joy.

We should delight in God’s law, meditate on it day and night, and sing of its value unto all generations.

Listen – As a Church this is our true Identity and that is exactly why we are a covenant community.

John 1:12 – In Christ we have been given the right to become children of God
Colossians 2:10 – In Christ we have been brought to fullness
Romans 6:6 – The day we put out faith in Christ our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin
1 Corinthians 12:27 – Now we are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it

We as a Church is a covenant community, the bride of Christ, holy, blameless and set apart for His glory. That is our identity.

And, therefore here’s what it means to live out our identity as a Church?

1. Stop trying to please God in your own efforts

We are not a miserable bunch of people who needs to do a certain number of things to win God’s favour.

You are not part of his church because you are a good guy. In fact the bible says in Romans 5:8

“God demonstrated his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Hebrews 8:10 says

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.

2. Live a life that declares his goodness all the time

To all the people – whether in your neighborhood, or our workplace or your place of study.

Hebrews 8:11 says

And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.

3. Stay humble and remind yourself every single day that you are mercied by God

Hebrews8:12

For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more.”

It is important that we constantly remind ourselves this gospel truth

– by thanking him daily in our prayers
– by meditating on this truth everyday
– by living a life centered around the gospel
– by letting the gospel truth influence every decision in your life

I believe everything begins on a right note when we truly understand our true identity. And every outcome of our lives should flow from that identity.

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First day of the year 2017 and this sermon on “The Mission of God through the suffering of his people” has enlightened our hearts to see missions in a new light. We are extremely grateful to the Lord for Pastor Jeff who served us well and unpacked the verse in Colossians 1:24. 

We hope as you listen to his sermon it will give you a new hope for this coming year and strengthen your heart to faithfully pursue God’s mission for your lives.

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Greetings and a warm welcome to all of you!

25th Dec is celebrated as Christmas day all around the world and as we’ve gathered today we will unpack the true meaning of Christmas.

Over the last number of years there has been a tremendous influence of culture, traditions and ideas outside the bible that has distorted the true meaning of Christmas. And today we will unpack the true Biblical meaning of Christmas.

But before we get into the word of God and search the scriptures let me answer some very valid questions about Christmas that people often ask. I believe the answers will help clear a lot of doubts surrounding Christmas.

Q1 – Was Jesus born on the 25th of Dec?

The answer to that question is that it is impossible to prove that Jesus’s date of birth is 25th Dec. It is an assumption that he was born on 25th Dec. People made these assumptions based on the time and season when the Roman Empire ruled Israel and many other factors. But the truth is there is no solid evidence that 25th Dec was the day.

Q2 – In that case is it wrong to celebrate Christmas on 25th?

Well, the truth is that Jesus was born someday. Even though we may not know the exact date of Jesus’ birth I see no harm in celebrating his birth on 25th Dec or any other day for that matter.
In fact we should celebrate the birth of Jesus every day. But celebrating it on 25th Dec along with the world around us gives us an opportunity to share about Jesus more boldly and in open.

Q3 – What does Christmas Tree symbolize?

The honest biblical answer is that it symbolizes nothing. There is absolutely no reference about Christmas tree in the Bible.

In the earlier days the ancient inhabitants of northern Europe would cut evergreen trees and plant them in boxes inside their houses in wintertime. Somehow it got associated with the season and especially with Christmas.

Q4 – Is it wrong to get a Christmas tree home?

I don’t see an issue unless people start worshiping the tree and idolize it instead. I would rather look at it as a decorative item in the house. As for my family we never got a tree home anytime.

Q5 – Who is Santaclaus and where is he mentioned in the Bible?

Again, there is no mention of Santaclaus in the bible.

Santaclaus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas is a legendary figure of western culture who is said to bring gifts to the homes of well-behaved children on Christmas Eve.

Since Santaclaus has absolutely no significance or reference in the Bible we personally refrain from the idea and do not teach them to our children. The reason we do not teach them to our children is so that they don’t misunderstand or misinterpret the deity of Christ with another figure or a person.

Q6 – Is Christmas about drinking and getting drunk?

As per the Bible I would say some drinking is definitely not OK, like drinking to drunkenness.

Ephesians 5:18 says “do not get drunk with wine”

1 Cor 6:10 says “Drunkards will not inherit the Kingdom of God”

Another one that’s not OK is drinking with person who has a weak conscience and is easily tempted to get drunk.

Let’s look at some facts –
– Excessive drinking kills millions of people in this culture
– It’s killing marriages
– It’s killing jobs
– Alcohol is deadly in this culture.

In some culture light drinking is permitted and the bible does not show any objections. In Jesus’ time they used to drink wine – In fact the first miracle Jesus performed at a wedding ceremony was turning water into wine (the best wine).

My take on drinking is it better to refrain from alcohol if you don’t have self-control over it, and also better to refrain if your drinking causes another to stumble.

Christmas is definitely not about drinking or getting drunk.

Now, coming to the true meaning of Christmas

Christmas in un-doubtbly the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

A few years back I happened to sit and think of the one Christmas verse that I believe sums up the whole meaning of Christmas and the one that is my personal favorite among all. The verse I picked up was John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”

I believe this verse is a true expression for all the reason of our celebration and joy and should be held closer to our hearts not just on Christmas but all the days of our lives.

Every word in that verse is so rich with revelation that we can meditate on it for days. Here are my thoughts as I went through each and every word in that verse and hope your hearts respond in the same way as mine did.

‘For GOD’

The verse begins with the mention of the main character and that is “GOD”.

I often tell stories to my boys before sleep and I start by saying “Once upon a time, there was a TIGER (with a growling voice)…”The moment I mention the main character of the story I observe their reactions and I found out that they respond differently at the mention of different characters. If it is a tiger or a lion, they get really enthusiastic and if it’s a rabbit, they’re more calm and curious.
What I learnt is that the character definitely carries some weight and sets the momentum for the rest of the story and takes the course in that direction.

Similarly, I want you to understand the weight of our main character in our favorite verse; here we are taking about God.

These days the use of the word ‘God’ has become so common that we rarely get gripped even by the mention of it.

We are talking about the ultimate power, the source of all good things, the one who was from the beginning, the master designer who designed us, the earth we live in, this massive universe, the sun and the moon, the different planets and arranged it in such a fashion that scientists say that if there is a deviation of 0.000000000000000001% the earth would not exist, we will not exist.
Before we go ahead, I want to encourage you to take some time and allow the weight of that name to grip you and I am sure the rest of the verse will sound more meaningful and enriching.

“so LOVED”

The greatest love we’ve ever known or experienced is the love of the creator God. I don’t even know whether anybody can even define that great Love; a love greater than that of a Father or a Mother, Brother or a Sister, Husband or a Wife.

Our Love is conditional but God’s love is an unconditional Agape love.

God is Love, that’s His character and I strongly believe that is what sustains us every single moment. He loves us because we are created by Him in His image for His glory.

“the WORLD”

This means He loves literally every single individual, nobody is exempted, no one is disqualified; no matter how crazy it sounds, that is the basic truth.

Irrespective of your background, the language you speak, the clothes you wear, your beliefs, your circumstance etc, God looks at each of you as His masterpiece, His priced possession far worth more than any valuable treasure in this world.

“that He GAVE”

Do you ever look at an ant on the floor and think of giving something to it? They are so tiny that we don’t ever care if they are around.

If we could ever get an opportunity to look at this earth we live in from a considerably far off distance, we will realize that we are just a speck, much smaller than even an ant, almost negligible.
But the verse says that this Great Big God didn’t just love this tiny speck that we are but also decided to ‘give’. I feel so humbled, blessed, fortunate, honored and favored just to know that God is so interested in you and me that He would go to any lengths to simply get our attention, draw us back to Him.

To what extent is that love which He has for us? Well, to the extent that He gave….

“His one and only SON”

I can stay speechless for hours just thinking of this precious gift. He gave us the very best, not close to the best but ‘the best’ gift.

For the fallen mankind who became rebellious towards the creator God, living in disobedience and trapped in sin, a sin that has no other penalty other than death. The good God meant for His creation (us) we turned into evil by killing, stealing, abusing and committing the worst sins possible.

We were destined to die for the penalty of our sin. God had to choose someone else to take up our sin and die in our place, someone who himself has never sinned. And who else could ever take that place?

His one and only son, Jesus Christ was the perfect candidate to take that place… and so the unconditional love of God compelled Him to give Jesus to us.

Hebrews 10:14 says

It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process. (The Bible)

He suffered the most terrible death recorded in human history as a ransom for our sin and wrong doings.

But the most amazing thing is that He rose again from the dead on the third day, defeating death and the devil. The empty tomb still exist in Israel to prove that all of this is not just a story by a true event back in history.

“that whoever BELIEVES in Him”

Who said we have to feed a 1000 people or climb Mount Everest or walk 1000 miles to receive this great gift from God. All it says is to believe.

It wouldn’t cost you anything to do that yet for most, it seems to be the most difficult thing to do. What is stopping you? What are the doubts or confusion clouding your head?

All you need do is just believe in your heart that Jesus died for you, repent of your sins and follow him wholeheartedly, that’s all it takes.

“shall NOT perish”

For those who believe in Him are rescued from hell, from the destruction of your soul, from the fiery furnace, from meaningless life, from eternal death and condemnation.

“but have eternal LIFE”

The promise is what matters the most; a life beyond death, a joy beyond measure, a peace that passes all understanding and freedom from the bondage of sin and death. There is no better proposition. It doesn’t get better than this.

God promises us life in abundance; hope and a bond restored back to Him if we only receive the truth, confess our sins and believe with all our heart.

King David in Psalms 34:8 says

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him” – The Bible

If you still have doubt than God even invites you to reason with him, Isaiah 1:18 in the bible says

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” – The Bible

Christmas just cannot be enjoyed or celebrated without knowing the truth behind it. And the truth is “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” – John 3:16

As I conclude my message I was encourage you and urge you not to make Christmas just a one day event but rather cherish and treasure this true every single day of your life.

Merry Christmas and a Big God bless you

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What is the general view in the world today about how a person can get to heaven? If you were to ask people living in your neighborhood, colleagues at work, friends from college, strangers on the street or even sometimes people in the church, they’ll usually say “Do good to others, always do what you feel is right, work really hard at being a better person, try to improve every time and you will have a good chance of making it into heaven”.

Logically this probably makes sense because in every other field if you put in hard work backed with a lot of dedication you can achieve your goals. You will get recognized and rewarded for your best efforts in any field. Plus the thought is that if you are constantly improving as a person, God is forgiving enough to pardon your sins and you can easily gain access into heaven. Let’s look at how this passage today responds to that general view. What we’ll find out is that this isn’t just an intellectual response but this is something that can radically transform your life. Later we’ll see why this message needs to be shared!

Romans 10:5-15

Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down)  “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’”[c] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Right from the start we see two ways being described: there is one “righteousness by the law” and there is “righteousness by faith”. Just to define righteousness: it is the way in which a way a person can be accepted by God! To rephrase: there are two ways here:

1) A way by which a person can be accepted by God through the law
2) A way by which a person can be accepted by God through faith

Let’s look at each in detail.

Righteousness through the Law:

V5 says: “The person who does these things will live by them.” This is same general worldview that we spoke about earlier: Do good, do better, improve yourself and God will accept you. On the outset it seems logical and innocent. However, there are three problems with this view:

a) It assumes that God’s standards are like our standards of holiness and righteousness: changing, shifting.

We sometimes think of it as two friends or parties having an issue. One friend offends the other, the other friend forgets the issue and they are back to being friends. Hab 1:13 says this “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong”.

I heard someone once describe how we try to understand the holiness of God. Because we are finite creatures, we need illustrations that will help us understand. So we’ll consider the most “holy” person that we know of. Multiply his “holiness” by a trillion times and that’s probably how holy God is. The reality is that the holiness of God is way beyond our understanding or imagination. As sinful people, we could never comprehend how holy is our God! That’s why the Bible rightly differentiates between God and Sin…Light and Darkness!

b) It assumes that we are by nature good people that have a few flaws that can be corrected.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jer 17:9)
What? Wait a minute? My heart? We know that that’s the place from where all your emotions and decisions come from. If that’s wicked and sick, how can we ever think that we just need to make a few corrections? It’s like rotten vegetables, no matter how much you wash them or boil them…they are still going to be bad and taste bad.

Now you may ask, why have a law? Just to define what “law” is here. The law is the set of commandments that God gave Moses to communicate with the people. It’s the terms by which God and man could relate with each other.

What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”[b] But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

The law was given so that we could know what “sin” is. If any country or nation doesn’t have a law that governs the land, what happens? Utter chaos and lawlessness. So God gave us the law so that we could know what His standards were and relate with Him accordingly. So the example given here is of the command “Do not covet”. The purpose was to let us know what God’s Holy standards were. But what did the sin in our hearts do? It instead created a desire to actually covet! Why do you think we always want to do what we’re forbidden to do? It’s easier to do what is wrong than to do what is right. Just imagine there is a kleptomaniac (someone who is unable to refrain from stealing things) in a town where they don’t have a proper law and order situation. If we take that kleptomaniac, bring him to a city where there is a proper law and give him training on the “Do’s” and “Don’t’s”, do you think he’ll stop stealing? No. Because the issue is within him, not in his environment. Now that’s us! We are those kleptomaniacs in our flesh.

So what do you think? Can we be accepted by God through the Law, Good works, Best efforts? No.

Let’s come to the Righteousness by Faith

But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’”[c] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

You don’t need to go and reach the highest heaven in order to find God or be accepted by God. When I think about this, I think about all the actors, musicians and businessmen from the West who come to India trying to find God. God has already sent His Only Son to us! Neither do you need to go down to the grave to find Jesus. He died and rose again on the third Day! He is our living Savior.

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

By believing in your heart that Christ died for you and rose again on the third Day and declaring that “Christ is your Lord”, you will be saved! In those days, everyone used to say “Caesar is Lord”. They would worship, honor and serve the King. Their utmost allegiance would be reserved for the King. So the people knew what it meant. What does it mean for you and me today? Does it mean removing the idols of entertainment, people, fame, money, pleasures for you? How can Christ be your Lord? Remember it’s not just giving mental assent to Jesus but committing your whole life.

And it’s because Christ committed Himself to dying on the cross for you! Remember we spoke about how we were trying our best efforts to please God but to no avail because we are utterly sinful people. But Christ lived in complete obedience to the Law. He was the only person who lived a life acceptable to God. No man on earth apart from Jesus lived like that. It was a perfect life and then He gave it up on the cross to die for our selfishness, lust, apathy, pride, self-righteousness, hatred, bitterness, disobedience and the like. He died and rose again so that He could offer us His perfect life that would make us acceptable to God.

So beautiful! We receive Christ’s righteousness just by believing and making him our Lord.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Does it take years to be made right before God? Does it take a certain level of maturity? Do you need to be 70-80% perfect to be saved? No. Instantly and freely you can receive this gift by believing and making Christ your Lord!

Isn’t this contrary to every other worldview or religious belief system in the world? Where everything around us tells us we can do better and we may have a chance, Christ says “I’ve already done the work…perfect, pleasing work! Take it freely! It’s for you!”

As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

Wow! I don’t want to be put to shame especially in the heavenly courts. It’s says “Never”. And he sealed this promise with His own blood. Can it get more real than that?

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

How I would apply this is…no difference between any of you. There is no distinction based on what your upbringing or religious background or sin history is. You may be a rapist or serial killer or atheist or whatever but Christ is your Lord and He will richly bless you if you call on Him. That sometimes seems too good to be true and it is! That’s why it is good news! “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Through Jesus everyone will be saved! By the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, everyone will be accepted by God.

That’s how we come to the mission part.

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

We just read and pondered on how wonderful this news is! Firstly, no one can be made right before God by obeying the Law. Secondly and most importantly, everyone can be made right with God by faith in Jesus. What Paul is saying here…this is such an amazing truth! How will people call, depend and trust Jesus if they don’t believe? How will they believe if they don’t hear the good news?

How will they hear if no one preaches to them? And how can people preach unless they are sent? Sending, preaching, hearing, believing and calling upon the Lord…that’s the pattern set before us in Scripture. This truth of the gospel should excite us and get us charged to take the gospel to everywhere we go.

This mission is an outflow of the gospel’s work and activity in our lives! Only the church knows and understands the difference between righteousness by the Law and righteousness by faith. The world by default thinks only about righteousness by Law. But we know the joy of being accepted, owned, comforted, satisfied, loved by God through faith in Jesus. It’s needs to be told. It needs to be shared. Believing is preceded by hearing the good news.

What is God leading you to do this week? Is it a commitment to Him because you haven’t surrendered or believed in Jesus? Or you have made the choice and now you are being sent? Who is God sending you to this week?

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/the-heavenly-vision.mp3″]

Our passage today is Isaiah 6:1-8

Introduction to Isaiah –

– One of the most important book in the old testament
– Not much is known about Isaiah’s personal life
– Collection of oracles, prophecies and reports
– God was using the pagan nations to chasten Israel for its sins and cleanse it from iniquity

Isaiah mean “Salvation of Yahweh” or “Yahweh Saves”

It was Isaiah who prophesied about Jesus Christ many years back in Isaiah 7:14 & Isaiah 9:6

Book of Isiah starts with a vision Isaiah saw concerning the nations Judah and Israel.

V2. He starts by saying “for the Lord has spoken”

In the first 5 chapters Isaiah speaks on behalf of God conveys how upset he is with the people because of their disobedience and rebelliousness.

Our passage in chapter 6 starts with this beautiful vision where Isaiah says “I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne.

A Parallel to our current generation:
– The problem in those days were that people had forgotten their creator God.
– They had become self centered, arrogant & pleasure seeking.
– They made idols for themselves and worshipped them instead of their creator God.
– Gave themselves to drunkenness
– Did everything that dishonoured God

Which is what we see happening even today in our generation.

In a situation like that Isaiah is saying “I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne”

Often times when people go through suffering and pain they ask questions like “Where is God?”, “Is God really watching us?”, “Does God really care for us?”, If yes then why doesn’t he doing anything about it?

I believe the same visuals Isaiah saw about the Lord is true even today. The Lord is seated on a high and lofty throne watching over us.

When I read that verse It assures me that our God is not absent from our lives but He is sovereign over all that is happening to us. I believe He is in control.

And everything we go through is because of our own sinful choices, arrogance and rebelliousness towards God.

The pain and the suffering we experience is the consequences of the sinful choices we make every single day. It is our failure to acknowledge this great big God who created us in his image. We often forget that we live under the mercy of God. We fail to acknowledge that tomorrow our very lives can be taken away.

If God wants to wipe us out of this earth all it takes for him is to shake the ground and cause an earthquake. He can wipe us out in seconds.

Our very existence is uncertain if it was not for the mercy of God.

And here we are selfish, wicked, self-seeking creatures who does not care about anything except our own pleasures and needs.

The bible says in Romans 3:23 that’s the condition of every single human being.
“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”

None is righteous, not even me.

And how do we get right with God? Can any of our human goodness please God?

In comparison to the standard of God holiness can any of our efforts match up to that?

You’re saying that by doing 100 good things and just 2 bad things you can please God?

The bible says Isaiah 64:6 “All our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” in comparison to God’s holiness.

What that means is that a man who’ve done all good things in all his lifetime – never harmed anyone – never killed anyone – had been a good man as per human standards. Even he is unworthy to stand before God with all his worthy deeds.

The verses go on to say that that the Seraphim had 6 wings, with 2 he covered his face, with 2 he covered his feet and with 2 he flew. The Seraphim then takes a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar and touched Isaiah’s mouth with it and said –

“Now that this has touched your lips your wickedness is removed and your sins is atoned for”

How did that happen?

The altar from where the seraphim picked up the coal was a place where sacrifices were offered. In the olden days’ men would offer animal sacrifices on the altar to please God.

The altar of sacrifice signifies and symbolizes the place where the true and worthy sacrifice would be offered. The one that will please God. The one that will truly cleanse us of our sins and wash us of our iniquities.

And what is that sacrifice?

It is a sacrifice that God himself provided for us.

Romans 3:25 says “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood”

Because we were unholy and unworthy to please God in any way, because we were sinful and all that we deserved was punishment and hell. God sent his only son – the one who lived a perfect and holy life while he was on earth – to take the punishment of our sins on our behalf – to dies for our rebelliousness – offered him as a worthy sacrifice on the ALTAR – to remove our wickedness and atone for our sins just as in the vision Isaiah saw.

The Christian faith is not based on stories and mythologies, the birth, death and resurrection of Christ are not just mere man made stories.

Jesus was not an imaginary person. No one in history will even deny the fact that a man called

Jesus lived and walked in this earth 2000 years back.

You may now want to ask why did God have to do something like that?

The answer is plain and simple in John 3:16

“For God so loved the world in this way, He gave his one and only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Now think about this – after all that God did for us through his son Jesus Christ – What does he asks as to do?

Does he say you need to walk a 100 miles to receive his forgiveness? Does he say you need to offer a thousand other sacrifices to gain this eternal life? Does he say you need to burn a hundred candle to please him?

All he says is “everyone who believes in this Jesus”

Unfortunately, the Christian world around us has become corrupt and has diluted this simple truth of the gospel. The Britishers made it worse for us. They called themselves Christians but set wrong examples to what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Mahatma Gandhi in his book “My experiments with Truth” said “I like the Christ in the bible but I hate the men who follow him”

The truth is that the Christian faith is plainly believing in Jesus as the only way, truth and life. It is believing the fact that Jesus dies in our place, conquered death and rose again on the third day.
It is about repenting before God and turning away from our sinful ways. To love Jesus and love one another as Jesus loved us.

The last verse in the passage (verse 8) Isaiah hears a voice from the Lord saying “Who should I send? Who will go for me?”

The Lord is asking who will go to my people and tell this good news. And Isaiah replies and says “Here I am, send me”

Just as we heard and received this love and forgiveness through Jesus, we are called to share this truth with our friends, family and whoever comes in contact with us.

I was 18-year-old, and even though I was born in a Christian family. An old uncle who visited our home to pray for us explained this truth of Jesus to me and I can’t explain how my life has changed since then.

I’m at peace with God, I enjoy a joy that is inexpressible – I feel loved and that compels me to love others.

Jesus is real to me. And just as Isaiah I am happy to happy this joy with you.

So, here’s what I have to say as I end my sermon.

If you’ve never heard this truth before I want to encourage you to take out time and ponder upon this truth. And all you have to do is believe.

And if you’ve already believed and enjoyed fellowship with God you know what I’m talking about – Now go and tell it to others.

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/missions-jinson.mp3″]

“Revelation” over the years has been a fascinating book for the church. The divine author is Jesus and the apostle John pens down his visions. I’ve generally heard two responses from people when they talk about “Revelation”.

They either say it’s confusing due to the symbols mentioned in the book or they are captivated by the End Times message. However, they miss the most important reason why this book was written.

It wasn’t written to confuse the church or frighten the church with the mention of God’s judgment. Rather it was written to encourage believers to remain loyal to Christ in the midst of intense suffering, temptations and deception.

This great revelation from Jesus about the future should give hope, joy and focus to the believers that are going through a very hard time.

Rev 5:9, 10

And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”

The focus of today’s passage is going to be on this new song!

Background of the text: God is sitting on the throne in all glory and splendour. He is surrounded by 24 elders seated on thrones with golden crowns on their heads. On the 4 sides of the throne of God, there are four creatures who never cease to say “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come”.

Whenever these creatures give praise to God, the 24 elders fall down before God’s throne and cast their crowns before Him. God the Father has a scroll in His right hand. The scroll is sealed with 7 seals.

A mighty angel proclaims with a loud voice “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And there was no one in heaven and on earth or under the earth who could open the scroll and look into it.

John seeing this started weeping loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look into it. One of the elders tells John “You don’t need to weep anymore. See the Lion of Judah, the Root of David has conquered so that he can open the scroll and the 7 seals.”

And John sees the Lamb standing between the throne and the 4 creatures. The Lamb looks like it has been slain in all power and in all knowledge and takes the scroll from the right hand of God.

The moment that happens, the 24 elders and the 4 creatures fall down before the Lamb and sing a new song.

For this passage we learn that there are three reasons why we need to pursue the lost and be passionate about sharing the gospel:

1. Christ has Redeemed our Worship
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

When you think about the word “Slain”, what comes to mind? You think about slaughtering, butchering etc. Not a pretty sight if you’re at the Meat Shop seeing it happen, right? Now think about Christ. He is fully pure, holy and glorious! He is fully satisfied in the company and fellowship of the Trinity. Everything in all of creation was created through Him. Not just that He sustains all of creation. Why should He be slain?

In his overflowing love and purpose, He created man in His own image. His own reflection. How many of us have ever seen our mirror reflection doing something different? The design and intention in creating us was to see us reflect the holiness, wisdom, greatness and worth of God.
Why should He be slain?

When God created us, he desired perfect unity and fellowship with us. He would tell us to do something and we would obediently serve Him because He is all knowing and righteous in all His ways. In obeying God we would be completely satisfied! The hunger and thirst of our soul found its fulfilment in knowing, trusting and obeying?

Why should He be slain if he is so caring?

Then we turned away from Him. In our sin we chose to live apart from Him. We no longer wanted to reflect who God is but wanted to do our own thing. Instead of reflecting the holiness of God, we want to show how good we are. Instead of showing how wise God is, we want to show off our wisdom.

Instead of reflecting the greatness of God, we want to be great in the world. Instead of telling how worthy God is, we try day in and day out to prove our own worth to the world. No longer do we want to do what God tells us. We think we know what’s best for our lives. So we plunge into every sinful indulgence that our heart desires.

Genesis 6:5: The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Now some of us may think. Hey, I’m not that bad. I’ve not actually acted upon every evil desire I’ve had. That’s where our understanding of sin and God’s understanding of sin differs. We are very superficial and selective in viewing our sin. We think the big sins are those that are culturally looked down upon and that leave us with a lot of guilt. That’s not how God looks at it.

For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. (1 Sam 16:7)

That’s why Jesus could say in Matt 5:28: But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If that’s the case, then there’s probably no good person on the earth. Even the “holiest” (in human terms) person on the earth would find himself falling short. Absolutely right. Rom 3:23: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Why should Christ be slain?

You know we all talk about injustice but true injustice happened to Jesus. He was slaughtered for no fault of His. He died for rebellious people like you and me. We said no to Him. We rejected Him. We rightly deserved to face His wrath.

Yet He willingly gave up His life for us and rose on the third Day to purchase us back to God. Through Christ’s sacrifice we can reflect who God is once again! We can spend all of eternity seeing, knowing, trusting and obeying Him!

Isn’t that the best reason for us to share the gospel? To tell them how they were rescued by Christ who was slain on their behalf. To tell them that Christ died to purchase them back to God. While sharing the gospel, I always love asking people why did a good person like Jesus have to die. It’s a question that people often don’t think about.

They just assume it happened without a proper reason. When I tell them that Jesus died for them, that’s their “Wow moment”! What a huge, wonderful gift! That the Son of Man would give up His life for a sinner like me. Could 1 billion USD even be compared to this incomparable gift of God? Would the best job, best house, best car, best education compare? No way!

2. Christ has Redeemed our Unity
from every tribe and language and people and nation

Do you guys remember Genesis 11? (Gen 11:1-9) That was the last time all the people of the world were one and had one language. And it’s such a sad thing that the last time all the world got together to do something united, what did they do?

They wanted to make a name for themselves and point a clenched fist at God. Since then all the people were scattered by language, people and nations. It was a result of the Fall. The amazing picture we see in Revelation is Christ redeems that unity.

In Christ, all those barriers have been removed.

Eph 2:14-16

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 

We are brought together this time not to defy God but to worship Him and serve Him in all unity! And how is that important or essential in understanding what our mission is. It’s in seeing God’s global purposes for redemption!

Christ is no longer confined to a certain section of society, a certain tribe, a certain elite class, a certain language group or a certain nation. His gospel is spread far and wide and will be received by different peoples!

A question for all of us to consider: do we think of the gospel as being essential to everyone we know and meet? Do we really believe in the multi-ethnic, multi-national, multi-lingual gathering that will take place before the throne of God?

Or do we live like people who only think Christ died and rose again for an elite group and hence we shouldn’t share? This should drive people to cross-cultural missions. As a church who believes in Christ who was slain and purchased people from every tribe, language, people and nation can’t look inward and only think about its own community and city.

3. Christ has Redeemed our Purpose
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”

The word “kingdom” in the Greek actually refers to kings, leaders. And the word “priest” brings to mind those who offer sacrifices continuously before God. What does that identity mean for us?

and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel. (Ex 19:6)

This identity was God’s intention for Israel in the OT and is his intention for the church today. He desires us to be set apart for Him, devoted completely to Him and become the conduit by which His blessing moves outward to the people around us.

That’s what a priest would do. He would be the representative of the people to God and the representative of God to the people. How does this impact our mission? In every way! By Christ’s sacrificial death we have been given a new purpose to stand between God and the world interceding for them.

Christ is going to use you to bend His blessing of salvation, joy, hope and peace outward to your friends, neighbours and colleagues. And remember you did not earn or deserve to be here. Christ redeemed you from sin, Satan and death unto God so that you can be His priest forever and ever. And it is a special place for the redeemed. We are not ordinary priests but royal priests!

Rev 20:6: Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

We will reign with Christ! We share in Christ’s authority! Wow! And this should boggle our minds. Why would Christ be slain? And why would He give me the privilege to serve Him as a royal priest? And why would He allow me to reign with Him?

Tomorrow if my boss tells me to become a partner in the business, I would tell him how imperfect and unqualified I am for the role. And here, Christ is telling you and me to reign with Him?

Do we need anymore reasons to wholeheartedly devote the rest of our lives to be on Christ’s mission?

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/proclaiming-the-excellencies-of-god.mp3″]

We are doing a series on Missions.

Week 1 – we looked at Matthew 28:18-20 .. The Great Commission … We learnt what Jesus meant when he said all Authority in heaven and earth has been given to him. We also learnt that ‘Go therefore and make disciples’ is a command given to all of us…. That this mission is the end goal of all our lives… Mission draws us closer to God …. & The Ultimate goal of mission is Worship.

Week 2 – we looked at Luke 5:1-11 where Jesus calls out his first disciple Peter to follow him and join him … 3 lessons we learned about Mission from the passage were 1) Mission is rooted in a relationship with Christ 2) Mission is empowered by the qualification of Christ & 3) Mission is defined by the call to follow Christ.

If you’ve missed been there for any of the Sundays I want to encourage you to visit and listen to the past sermons as listed below –

• The Great Commission … Go Therefore – Matthew 28:18-20
• Defining Mission – Luke 5:1-11

The text for today’s sermon is from 1 Pet 2:9,10.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Last to last week when David preached from 1 John 1:1-14 he answered 3 questions… Can you re-collect them?

Who is God?
What is he doing? &
Who am I in the light of that?

Similarly, I believe today’s passage will help us answer another set 3 important questions for us.

Who are we?
How did we get this Identity? &
What’s it for?

Who are we?

• Verse 9 – “We are a chosen people”

1 Peter is a letter written by Peter to a particular set of people – Who are they? – The elect in God (Christians), we see that in 1 Pet 2:1. He is addressing it to the people who believed in the gospel and surrendered their lives to Christ. Just as we are.

And in verse 9 is saying to them “You are a chosen people”

And as children of God it is absolutely irrelevant what caste or culture or language group we belong to. Because in the kingdom of God we are either ‘chosen’ or ‘not chosen’. We are either going to heaven and spend eternity with God or end up in hell and suffer.

John Piper quotes “What gives us our identity is not color or culture. But chosenness.”

So true it is!

In the Bible Paul writes in Ephesians 1:4 “He chose us in him (In whom? – In Jesus) before the foundation of the world”

Listen to me …. You were chosen by God into his Kingdom before the foundation of the world.

Let me ask you something…  Tell me how does it make you feel? 

Eg. Indian Idol

To be chosen by God is far more special than been chosen for any contest in this world.

It is a privilege to be part of this chosen race of people that God has set apart for himself.
And therefore, we need to be far more grateful and thankful to God than these people who will big contest or even a lottery ticket. Our joy should supersede all of them. Our expressions of thanksgiving and praise should be more vibrant than theirs.

Ephesians 1:4 also reminds me that even I was a small child in my mothers care, a spoilt teenager hanging around with a bunch of crooks, a failure in school, a shame to my father. God had his eyes on me. In the midst of all my circumstances and crowd around me – God identified me as his own – His chosen one.

And that’s exactly who you are? A chosen and beloved child of God.

• In Verse 10b Paul mentions our second identity … “We are men who’ve received MERCY from God”

To have received mercy basically means that, when we deserved punishment because of our sinfulness and fallen state as human beings, God didn’t punish us, but in fact blesses us instead. Mercy is the withholding of a just condemnation.

When God created the first man and the first women in his own image & likeness … and unlike other created beings he gave humans free will to choose between right and wrong.
And God gave them a free will so that they willfully choose to obey and worship God and not by force. God desired and still desires true and genuine worship from his children.

But instead of obeying and worshiping God they chose to rebel against Him … And therefore every human being is born sinful (including us) and deserve death and punishment from this Holy creator God.

God has all the rights to condemn us …. but He chose to show mercy … WHY? … Simply because He loves us.

In the beginning of Peter’s letter in chapter 1:3 he writes

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Lamentations 3:22-23 writes

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.

God didn’t just chose us but he also showed mercy and CONTINUOUS to be merciful to us every single day.

We are men who’ve received MERCY from God

• Verse 9 .. Our 3rd Identity …. “We are Holy nation”

By placing our faith in God’s son Jesus Christ alone to save us from our sins – believing that Jesus paid the penalty of our sin by shedding his blood. God declared us holy.

Hebrews 10:8-10 the author gives us this beautiful picture of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. He says

“Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” – though they were offered in accordance with the Law. Then Jesus said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will” Jesus sets aside first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

As Christians when God looks at us he doesn’t look at our sinfulness anymore but he looks at the Holiness of Christ.

We are a Holy nation, chosen by God & showered with mercy.

• Our fourth identity is …. “We are God’s possession” .. a treasured possession

We no longer belong to this world but we belong to God. We are his treasured possession. And therefore he continues to show his favor every moment. He provides us with all good things. He watches over us. His love constantly chases us.

Even though we walk through the valley of shadow of death … He is with us.

• Our fifth identity Peter says …. “We are a Royal Priesthood”

As a child of God we are priest having immediate access to God – we don’t need another human mediator. God himself provided the one Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ. We have direct access to God, through God. And, second, we have an exalted, active role in God’s presence.
We are not just chosen, mercied, possessed, and holy just to sit away doing nothing. We are called now to minister in the presence of God. All our life is priestly service. We are never out of God’s presence. We are never in a neutral zone. We are always in the court of the temple. And our life is either a spiritual service of worship (Romans 12:1–2), or it is out of character.

This is Who we are.

God’s possession, a holy nation, chosen, showered with mercy and having access to the presence of God.

We are a chosen race
A royal priesthood
A holy nation
A people for God’s own possession

Now, our second question.

How did we get our identity?

I think the simplest answer to this question is “God gave it to us”

Not on the basis of our merits, our accomplishments OR our good works ….

Peter says this in a summary statement at the end of verse 9. He refers to God like this: “Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” The light in which we live now as a chosen race, holy nation, mercied by God as a Royal Priesthood. The way we got there is that God called us. He called us out of darkness into this marvelous light.

And that’s how we got out identity.

Now that we’ve answered the first 2 question “Who we are?” & “How did we get this identity?”. I believe it is equally important for us to answer the 3rd most important question.

What is it for?

If I have to call my son Jairus and hand him a set of tools and objects and walk away without saying anything. The next question he would ask me is “Dad, what is it for?”

If Anslem has to call you and give you a lakh of rupees and walk away without saying anything. The next question you would want to ask him is “What is it for?”

If you’ve been offered a job position in a multi-national company without you even applying for the job or even qualified for it. The next question you would to ask is “What is it for?”

In the natural world we always ask that question when we are offered something out of the blue. In the same way I believe it is important for us to ask that question when we’ve been offered something we don’t deserve.

And Peter answers that question in the passage. He says

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

God made us who we are so that we might proclaim
– The excellency of his freedom in choosing us.
– The excellency of his grace in showing mercy to us.
– The excellencies of his authority and power in possessing us.
– The excellencies of his worth and purity in making us holy.

In other words he has given us our identity in order that his identity might be proclaimed through us. God made us who we are so we could make known who he is. Our identity is for the sake of making known his identity. The meaning of our identity is that the excellency of God be seen in us.

Now, that’s a call for mission

And how do we proclaim his excellencies?

We proclaim is excellencies by

1. Living for His glory

Immediately after verse 10 . in verses 11 and 12 Peter writes

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

2. By been the light of the world & salt of the earth

Matt 5:16 Jesus said

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”

3. By being obedient to Jesus’ call to go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 43:10 God says “You are my witness”

Mark 16:15 Jesus said “Go into the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation”

Last week Paul and his team encouraged us to be a witness for Jesus … and I believe it helped us to think of different ways to share the gospel with your family, friends & colleagues.

Conclusion: Trust this sermon has blessed your heart, we pray that you have a great week ahead proclaiming the excellencies of God in and through your lives.