Category: Sermon

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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?

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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?

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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.

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/defining-mission.mp3″]

We’ll be looking at a familiar passage today which is known for the miracle in it but it’s not a common passage when people talk about mission. I thought it’ll be good for all of us to study it together and understand what its implications can mean for us today.

Luke 5:1-11

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret,  and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Let’s set this up by talking a little bit about the context of this passage. A couple of verses before we get to this passage, Jesus says “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” (Lk 4:43)

I think it’s interesting that Jesus plainly states his purpose to preach the good news and a couple of verses later he chooses his first disciples. It’s definitely connected. But don’t think that Christ is helpless when he looks at the huge task of getting the good news declared to all towns and therefore, he needs to urgently recruit some people to help him out. Acts 17:24-25 says “The God who made the world and everything in it, being the Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”

Psalm 19:1 says “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork”. The heavens and sky are also used by God to declare His glory.

In Numbers 22, God used a donkey to communicate with Balaam. A donkey spoke in clear legible language to communicate with a person! If God can communicate through a donkey, let’s not ever think that God is dependent on us. He is not dependant on us and yet He choses to use us. That in itself should humble us and make us grateful for the privilege to join God in His marvellous mission.

What we understand from the relation between the passage in Lk 4:43 and Luke 5 is that Christ is extremely passionate about the mission (must preach the good news) and His disciples are also defined and described by that mission.

With that let’s look at our main text. We see how an eager and hungry crowd come toward Jesus in order to hear the word of God. Jesus is standing by the lake of Gennesaret and he sees two empty boats because the fishermen were washing their nets. Jesus climbs up the boat which belonged to Simon Peter and asks him to put it out a little from the land. This isn’t the first time Peter encounters Jesus though.

In John 1, we learn that two disciples follow Jesus when John the Baptist points at Jesus and says “Behold the Lamb of God”. Andrew was one of the disciples and he finds his brother Peter, tells him that they’ve found the Messiah and brings him to Jesus. (John 1:40-42)

On another occasion in Luke 4:38-39, Jesus comes to Simon’s house and heals his mother in law who has a high fever.

Peter so far has seen Jesus perform miracles, heal people, drive out demons and teach with authority but he hasn’t yet followed him. It’s like he’s in an environment where he’s being exposed to the person of Jesus but doesn’t yet see the significance in actually following him. Many of us who grew up in a Christian environment would relate to this story because growing up we’ve read stories in the Bible, hear people talk about Jesus, we are taught songs about Jesus but don’t get how that makes any difference to our lives. If you are there at this point, I hope the conversion story of Peter encourages you. It wasn’t a co-incidence due to which Jesus got into Peter’s boat. Rather it was an ordained and planned event that was going to transform his life forever! Wow!

Verse 4 & 5

And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”

Could you imagine being in Peter’s shoes right now? He was an experienced, skilled fisherman. He just spent the entire night trying to catch some fish to no avail. Jesus on the other hand was a carpenter. I’m sure Peter must’ve wondered “I know Jesus heals people and all that but I know this trade better than him. I’m pretty sure that it’s not going to change anything”. Out of respect Peter heeds to Jesus’ request but probably didn’t expect or believe anything different to take place.

Think about something that you’re good at. You’re skilled at it because it’s a task that you do every day. You’re almost an expert in this field or task. Now what if someone with no experience in that task or field comes and tells you to do the opposite of what you think or believe, what would your response be?

Coming back to the text, Peter probably doubted Jesus at that point but he still exhibited trust by putting down the nets. Do you ever imagine what would’ve happened if Peter didn’t listen to Jesus? Instead you see him trusting and obeying what Jesus asked him to do.

Verse 6 & 7

And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

What an amazing miracle they’ve just witnessed! It’s absolutely unheard of! How could it be possible that from no catch they suddenly caught so many fish that the two boats are now sinking due to the weight? In their many years of fishing they’ve never caught so many fish. They now realize that this Jesus does not only heal people of their sicknesses but also controls nature and circumstances according to His will!

Verse 8 & 9

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken

I find it interesting that before this miracle, Peter refers to Jesus as Master and now He is Lord. Peter understands the difference. Maybe earlier Peter only saw Jesus as an overseer and a Teacher but now He sees him as one with supreme authority. He realized that he wasn’t dealing with a Teacher and a Prophet but He was dealing with God Himself. I think that’s where Jesus gets offensive to people. People are okay with Jesus as long as He is a moral teacher or as long as he is a Prophet who talks about the future but they are reluctant to accept Him as God. And isn’t that strange? Why can’t Peter enjoy the abundance of his catch? Why is suddenly fearful and talking about his sin? This astonishing miracle opened his eyes to perceive the holiness of God and the sinfulness of himself. In essence what he probably meant is “Jesus, I know you are Holy and sent from God. I can’t be around you because I am so sinful! I am unworthy and unqualified to be with you!”

If you are there today, being overwhelmed in your sin and feeling absolutely unqualified to be on Jesus’ mission, here are 3 things this passage tells us today:

1) Mission is rooted in a relationship with Christ

Verse 10 ….And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

Those 4 words “Do not be afraid!” changed everything! Can you imagine how Peter, John and James felt at that very moment? They expected condemnation and judgment from Holy God. Instead they received compassion and forgiveness! “Do not be afraid” Such sweet words from Jesus for sinners like you and me. The reason why we are recipients of God’s immense love and forgiveness is because Jesus completely paid the price for our sin by dying on the cross. The judgment that was deserving of criminals like you and me because we sinned against God in our thoughts, words and actions was borne by Christ who committed no crime. Apart from the sacrifice of our Lord all that is left for us is condemnation! When you stare at yourself in disbelief and grief because you understand how sinful you are…Christ speaks a better word…Christ says “Do not be afraid. I got this”. That’s why Rom 8:1 says “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. Why would anyone not want that?

One of the reasons why Christians ignore mission or aren’t passionate about God’s mission is because they don’t have a pattern of continuous repentance and faith. So they’re living with unconfessed sin and have forgotten everything about the freedom and joy they have in Christ. If we look into our lives, would we say that a pattern of turning from sin and completely depending on the life and work of Christ is THE defining factor? Or are repentance and faith merely random events in your life?

2) Mission is empowered by the qualification of Christ

Not just that Jesus also empowered and commissioned them to “catch men”

What does “Catch men” mean? It obviously doesn’t mean kidnapping! That would be wrong. The word “catch” in the Greek actually means make someone captive or imprison them. It’s talking in a spiritual sense. We have been given the task to “apprehend” people with the beauty of Christ’s love and sacrifice. That’s what happens when we share the good news. We tell people of how we were “apprehended” by Christ’s compassion and love for us and how we’ve been set free from the sin’s penalty and condemnation. Its good news because it’s a free gift available for them too!

What if we get the feeling that we’re unqualified to “catch men”? Well, it is Christ who qualifies you. Firstly, he qualifies us by cancelling each and every sin and by giving us His righteousness. Then He qualifies us by nurturing us through His Word as we read and obey it each day. I’m sure Peter and the others thought Jesus should’ve approached some of Pharisees who were much more knowledgeable to be his disciples. No, that’s not the way it works in God’s kingdom. In Acts 4:13, Peter and John were standing before the big shots in the Jewish religious circles and a very interesting description is made of them. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they had recognized that they had been with Jesus”. It is the relationship with Christ that qualifies you.

One thing that all believers know is how Christ transformed their lives. It’s a truth we can’t forget or deny. Yet many still don’t want to share their testimonies. We still wait for that moment when we will be ready to share our faith. Isn’t Christ’s qualification enough for us? If we have a real relationship with Christ, then we are qualified to share.

3) Mission is defined by the call to follow Christ

Verse 11 –  And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
I always keep thinking. These were fishermen who had their livelihoods entirely dependent on the amount of fish they caught. Were they acting foolishly by just leaving everything and following Jesus at a time when they got so much? Wasn’t that terrible business decision making? Why couldn’t have they waited for a few more years and then followed Jesus during retirement?

I think it’s because till now their identity (everything that defined and directed their course of life), their purpose (driving motivation), security (what can secure their lives), longing of their hearts (maybe the trade or the abundance could satisfy) surrounded around fishing and what it could provide.

They just met and had an encounter with Jesus who in one miracle showed them that He was the answer to their longing for a true identity, true purpose in life, true security and true satisfaction. It’s like the treasure in Matt 13:44. A man finds a treasure hidden in the field. In his “joy” he sells all that he has and buys the field. If you found the answers to the deepest questions in your life, would you hold back from giving yourself completely to the solution to those questions? That’s why it wasn’t foolishness but conscious and a joyful response by Peter, James and John to leave everything and follow Jesus. That’s where mission begins.

It’s a question of willingness to follow Jesus. Only a true follower of Jesus will be on Mission. Only a follower would want to trust and obey Jesus. Could it be possible that you don’t want to be on mission because you aren’t really following Jesus?

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

Good morning — Please open your Bibles to 1 John

Back home — at the Red Tree church I get the privilege of pastoring — we are beginning a new series called THE WORK OF GOD. Where we will spend 3 weeks answering the question what is GOD at work doing?

As a pastor most of my time is spent answering three really basic questions… They come in all kinds of crazy circumstances and in crazy ways but when you boil it down I’m spending most of my time answering the questions: Who is GOD, What is He doing, Who am I in light of that?

Here is my encouragement to you this morning… No matter how many answers you get to those questions  — never stop asking them…

People all over the world whether they know it or not – are asking these questions — And the reason why these questions are still popular today is because the answers to these questions are actually make sense of the world we live in — they define for humanity it’s deepest questions, like: why do we exist?, what is our purpose?, how do we spend our time on this planet?…

Ecclesiastes tells us an incredibly depressing story about King Solomon – who set out to try and answers these questions outside of GOD and in the end his conclusion was vanity, vanity all is vanity!

Without GOD nothing has meaning, nothing has purpose. Philosophers have been searching for the answers to these questions since the beginning of time.

Here is my concern for the church – and my main problem with cultural christianity — It seems to promote an attitude — that causes us to stop seeking… I prayed a prayer I’m done — We have pad answers to questions like: why do you exist? “for the glory of GOD”… NOW go live your life…

Listen the answer to the question why do you exist was never intended to stop our seeking of GOD… But rather to fuel it!

The most destructive thing that can happen to a person’s faith — to a person’s life is that they stop seeking GOD.

A.W. Tozer – “How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our leaders.”

SO today I am hoping to stoke the fire of desire in your hearts for GOD by beginning the conversation with a question: “What is GOD doing?”.

We use language like invitation and participation. I want us with confidence to be able to answer the question What is it that I am being invited into and how do I participate once i’m there?

So What is the work of GOD? I broke it down to three of the most basic aspects of what GOD is doing:

Revelation: God is revealing Himself to His creation
Redemption: God is buying back what was stolen by sin, satan and death
Restoration: God is renewing that which was damaged by sin

I don’t have time to teach through all three this morning but I do want to address the first one.

Revelation: God is revealing Himself to His Creation. He’s making Himself Known… I could literally read hundred’s of passages of scripture to support this claim.

Yet it is becoming one of the least talked about aspects of the work of GOD in the church. Scripture itself is becoming less central to the life of the believer because of this truth.

Many in the western world are abandoning the beauty and sufficiency of the word of life and in the end they are finding themselves less and less satisfied with GOD.

Sin is attempting to be satisfied by anything outside of GOD and His design for us. Which means worship is the state of finding satisfaction in GOD and His design for us.

1 John 1:1-4

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

My son’s favorite phrases is “Daddy do it again!”. He never tires of repetition. It doesn’t matter what it is. It could be a magic trick or drawing a picture or swinging him around. He never tires.

A few weeks ago we went fishing together and he has his own little fishing pole and I get all ready and baited up and we walk over to the side of the lake and I have the pole and wrap his little hands around mine so he could learn how to cast and we cast it into the lake — and no joke not 4 seconds after it hit the water a fish took the bait and hooked himself on our line.

So we reel it in together and there is this little fish on the line and Moses is just going nuts and jumping up and down and just so incredibly happy.

We take the fish of the line and throw it back and my son looks back up at me with his big blue eyes and says “Daddy — do it again!”.

So it’s on — I spend the next hour trying to become super fisherman. I am casting and reeling, I am standing under bushes and on logs trying to find the best spot for Moe and I to catch another fish. And nothing… I can see as time goes on the disappointment growing on my son’s face which put even more pressure… So I abandon my son and I am off to try and go catch a darn fish.

And he comes up to me and says Daddy I don’t like fishing anymore and I say oh son we’ll catch another fish and he looks up to me and says “I just want to be with you”.

In that moment it hit me. Moses’ do it agains were not because he was so amazed by what I accomplished but his “do it agains” were motivated by his desire to spend more time with me.

He got to be with me. If I did it one more time that was more time that we got to be together… the drawings, magic tricks, spinning around none of it was ever about anything else other than being with His daddy.

I was so busy trying to accomplish something for Him that I missed the real gift — which was just to be with him…

Let me begin by saying this: The greatest missed truth about the REVELATION of GOD is that all of it is for the purposes of a Restored Relationship with GOD.

Let me say it this way — GOD has AND is revealing himself to you so that you would have a genuine RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.

GOD made you and He knows you and His desire is that you would know him… That you would know His glory and that He alone would be your satisfaction.

listen: Not because He’s lacking — but because He’s loving…

THE VEIL

1 John

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us…

The apostles John and Paul were both big on the idea that what was hidden has now come to light. What was veiled by sin and human desire has now been brought to light by Jesus through His life, death, and resurrection.

John the Baptizer went around, before Jesus’ public ministry quoting the prophet Isaiah… “The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the shadow of death a great light has dawned.”

Something has changed…

I hope we hear the zeal and excitement in this text — For John — in the 1st century they had only heard about GOD. There was 400 years of silence – no miracles, no burning bushes, no parted seas, no prophets — Just stories.

They heard about it but now through Jesus they SEE. God has become manifest — The word of life has come to be seen (known) and become a tangible reality for them.

GOD is at work making himself known. But why?

3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. {Relationship: The invitation is to participate in fellowship, deep relationship with the Father and with His son in the power of the Holy Spirit}

Time/Out – the God of all creation — wants to be in fellowship with you and on top of that has made a way for us to be in fellowship with him.

This truth is the most humbling truth… the God I reject on a daily basis by my indifference or selfishness or self righteousness — Is constantly at work wooing me to himself. Through revelation (Creation, Word, Jesus)

HE PURSUES

So all of the work of Revelation that GOD is doing is so that we would be humbled unto repentance and return to the FATHER….

NOW here is what Blows my mind… Not only is GOD revealing himself to us — He is pursuing us!

John 6:44 says that “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…”

GOD is at work drawing you to Him so that you can know Him.

But let me show you how relentless His pursuit of you is…

The imagery used here is awe inspiring…

Turn with me to the book of HEBREWS 12:24-29…

GOD is relentless in His pursuit of us… His creation, His beloved children…

What this is saying is that GOD is willing to shake the heavens and the earth in such a way that anything that is not of him would fall away… So that the only thing that remains in our lives is Him and His glorious purposes and design. His UnShakable Kingdom

verses 28 and 29 display more of the heart of GOD and our only right response to that…

Therefore:
“let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,
AND
let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe.”
for our GOD is a consuming fire…

When life seems to be shaken up this verse should come to mind because we know that the one thing that cannot be shaken is the kingdom of GOD that we have been promised through Jesus Christ. Our response: THANK YOU!

Our God is a Jealous GOD and is a consuming fire… Because He loves His creation— Because He desires good and glory in His creation — He leaves us with the only thing that can truly satisfy and truly capture our hearts and that is himself…

4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

His willingness to whatever is necessary to keep His unshakable kingdom our firm foundation is because of His Unshakable LOVE for us…

WE MUST PURSUE HIM

Now I want to get practical. What does that mean for us?

Simply put the Doctrine of Revelation means: We are invited to know HIM…

And in order to know someone you must pursue them.

Here is a really basic truth for you… You will never lay a hold of that which you do not pursue.

This is why Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

God is pursuing you and GOD has initiated the relationship AND God has given us everything we need in Jesus — HE has done everything necessary BUT we have to lay hold of that work… it’s called FAITH.

One of the things that crept into Christianity is the idea of convenient grace and easy salvation

Where one can be “saved” purely as an academic endeavor but never truly have a love and desire for GOD. ONE can walk an aisle, pray a prayer, and even get dunked in water but in the end have no real desire for GOD.

This is one of the affects of the porn generation… It’s convenient and easy and there is no real work involved…

And then in the end we wonder why are left completely unsatisfied. What is more frustrating to me is we have a generation who is blaming GOD for their unsatisfying life when GOD has been at working inviting His creation to find satisfaction in Him.

Everything in the Christians life is completely and utterly dependent on relationship with GOD. GOD is drawing you to Him by revealing Himself to you. We must Lay a Hold of it…

James 4:5-8 5 

Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Matthew 5:6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied or filled.

John 6:29

Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe (intimate knowledge) in him whom he has sent.”

It is not about understanding GOD… It’s about knowing Him.

He is not a science to be mastered or even a history to be detailed out, He is a person to be known!

This truly is the work that GOD himself has initiated with you. To know him… To See Him… To Cherish Him… To pursue Him as He has you firmly in His hands.

Jesus’s words to the thief on the Cross… You will be with me!… Jesus died so that we could be with HIM.

So what are some things for us to know in our pursuit of GOD…

1) We seek to know not to get…

– in knowing — everything we long for is satisfied.

My son taught me that day at the lake that what He truly sought was me. Not what I provided, not what I could do but me…

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Do you believe that the best and most valuable thing God can give you is himself?

2) We seek him through His means not ours…

– (??Moses and Show Me Your Glory??)
– His word, prayer, mission, obedience

Matt 11:28-29

3) We seek Him in the mundane not just the extravagant…

– How are you knowing GOD in your singleness?
– How are you knowing GOD in your marriage?
– How are you knowing GOD in your vocation?
– How are you knowing GOD in your education?

We look for the red sea and miss the manna in the morning…

God never tires of the do it agains… Everyday the sun comes up, and every year the leaves change colors, and every minute he reveals and saves and renews His children. God never gets tired of the do it gain.

So SEEK HIM!

Psalm 70:4

May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you!

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/go-therefore.mp3″]

In our last series on Nehemiah we saw the missional journey of Nehemiah and therefore our next series is on Missions and I hope this stirs your heart to Go and spread the love of Jesus.

Our passage for today is Matthew 28:18-20

These are the final instructive word from Jesus to His church. Jesus had just risen, the Jews handed him over to the Romans to crucify him on the cross.

Unlike today the world in which Jesus commissioned his disciples was a hard ground. There is already a lot of tension between the Jews and the Romans and here is Jesus asking his disciples to go spread the good news to the world.

Not all of the disciples that were gathered believed in the fact that Jesus is now risen. But still Jesus did not reject or disapprove of them, he accepted their worship.

Verse 18 Jesus starts his conversion by saying “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me”

Here’s what that authority meant –

• Authority to forgive Sins (Luke 5:20)
• Authority to mediate to the Father (1 Timothy 2:5)
• Authority to send the Holy Spirit (John 14:26)
• Authority to open the hearts & minds of His people (Luke 24:45)
• Authority to reveal the Father (Matt 11:27)
• Authority to give eternal Life to whom He chooses (John 10:27-28)
• Authority to raise us up on the last day (John 6:40)

Jesus showed His equality with the Father and possessed all authority and power.

Verse 19 – Go therefore & make disciples of all nations

This command was not given only to the disciples but even to us in this generation. We are called to make disciples.

This is the core reason we exist – of all the things we do in life.

We often speak of God been glorified in our lives. Mission is the means through which God is glorified in us.

Mission draws us nearer to God – and keeps us away from slackness.

Bill Hybels in his book “Becoming contagious Christians” writes

“Often I meet Christians who are in spiritual malaise, holding on to their faith but not advancing it much. Bible study has become a chore; prayer is a dry routine. The miracle of their own conversion, once recounted with great passion, is now a distant, fading memory. And going to church is – well, its something they just do.

Mechanically and half-heartedly, these people trudge along through the drudgery of quarantined Christianity.

But when these lethargic believers break out of spiritual isolation and meet some spiritual seekers, something incredible starts to happen. As they experience high-stakes conversions that tend to happen with unchurched people, they begin to notice a sort of inner renewal taking place. Areas long ignored suddenly come alive with fresh significance .. Isn’t it incredible how elevating our efforts to reach others can be a catalyst for personal growth?”

The ultimate goal of Mission is worship

Worship of the true & living God is the ultimate goal of Mission. We lead and disciple people to Christ not to make them mere Church going Christians but to lead them into becoming true Worshippers, the one the Father seeks.

John Piper in his book “Let the nations be glad” writes

“Worship is ultimate, not mission. Because God is ultimate, not man”

We need to make Mission the ultimate goal of our life by

• living intentionally
• looking for opportunities to glorify God
• consistently reaching out even in hard times
• staying faithful to our calling

[otw_shortcode_info_box border_type=”bordered” border_color_class=”otw-black-border” border_style=”bordered” shadow=”shadow-down-right” rounded_corners=”rounded-10″]This sermon is part of our Expository Preaching Collective on the Book of Nehemiah. Follow the link below to know more about What Expository preaching is and Why is it important to us. (Click here)[/otw_shortcode_info_box]

We have come to the end of Nehemiah! It’s been a wonderful process for all of us as we’ve seen God’s love and grace in rebuilding and restoring the hearts of His people. The story on the exterior might seem to be only about rebuilding, repopulating and governance but it was really about renewal of their hearts!

It’s been exhilarating recounting the experiences of Nehemiah, the people of Judah and learning to apply them to our lives. We’ve learnt a great deal on prayer, repentance, purity, obedience, giving ourselves to the work of God, worship, fighting sin, standing firm in opposition.

And yet when we come to the end of the book instead of finishing with a triumphant message, it closes with the sad reality of people’s failing commitment to God.

23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”

28 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me. 29 Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

30 Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; 31 and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

This morning I want us all to go to Doctor Scripture for a checkup. Doctor Scripture will be doing a thorough check up of our hearts today. Our prayer is that the truths of this passage will illuminate us to know what’s in our hearts and turn to Christ for him to perform the surgery:

The first thing that we discover about our heart condition is that:

1. We are forgetful: Prone to forget our identity in God (v23-27)

23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?

“Wow! Really?” might be our response when we read this text. These were the same people in Chapter 10 swore…entered into an oath and curse to walk in God’s Law. I thought these were the people who separated themselves from the peoples of the land to the Law of God!

I thought they were the ones who stood for half a day confessing their sins to God and made a firm covenant in writing on a sealed document! Let’s look at Chapter 10:28-39 to see what all they had committed to. By Chapter 13 we find that all those commitments were forgotten and broken.

A couple of weeks back we saw how they neglected the house of the Lord and did not support the priests and the Levites, last week we saw how the people ignored the commandment to keep the Sabbath and now we see how they intermarry with the women of Ashdod, Ammon and Moab.

The Israelites witnessed first-hand how intermarriage with the people these nations always resulted in disobedience to God. Association with these nations always meant that the Israelites were led to sexual immorality and idolatry. There was no good that came out of these relations. It’s like that old sinful indulgence that we immerse in when we seek pleasure and comfort apart from God. Somehow for this sin there’s always an exception. When it comes to this sin we always compromise.

We love this sin so much that we don’t mind ignoring the commandments of God or the commitment to God. Just know that this comes at a huge risk. We learnt a couple of weeks back how our sin damages and contaminates our worship of God. There’s another thing at stake here. Identity!

V24 says: And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people.

Is anything wrong learning another language and culture? That’s why context is essential. In Ancient Times, the way nations used to conquer other nations was not just by power and might but also by teaching them their language and culture. That’s how they would brainwash them in order to make them slaves.

Daniel 1:3-8: 3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family[a] and of the nobility, 4 youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7 And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

In Daniel’s time we see how the attempt was made to brainwash him and the other Israelites by educating them with the literature and language of the Chaldeans. Not just that, their names were changed: because that would also totally change their identity!

Now we may think…what’s the big deal about identity? Everything! It affects everything you do. Just imagine if you were literally brainwashed and sent out to roam within the city without any ID, what would that be like? Wouldn’t it be disastrous? You wouldn’t know where to go? You wouldn’t know who was in your family? You wouldn’t know what to do? Neither would you know your rights and duties as a citizen.

In the same way if you forget your identity in God, you forget your identity as a child of God, rescued by God to serve God and glorify God! If losing your identity physically is devastating, how much more dangerous is it to lose your identity in Christ?

• You forget that Christ has totally and completely forgiven ALL your sins.
• If we confess our sins, he isfaithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.(1 John 1:9)
• You forget that there is absolutely no condemnation for those who are in Christ! (Rom 8:1)
• You forget that in the presence of God there is fullness of JOY! (Ps 16:7)
• You forget that Christ chose and appointed you to go and bear fruit! (John 15:16)

We miss out on all of that by forgetting our identity! And Satan knows that so from the start he’s always tried to play around with our identity. He asked Eve “Did God really say that you shouldn’t eat of any tree in the garden?” By v5 he convinces her that her identity apart from God is more attractive. And from v6 we see how the whole of humanity and creation fell with that loss of identity.

And just like how Satan subtly tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit. He didn’t tell them explicitly that he was trying to confuse their identity in God. Similarly what are some sins we entertain assuming that they are innocent?

For eg: Culture around us will tell us we need to be secular, there’s no harm in marrying an unbeliever. Will you still go ahead and pursue a relationship knowing how it’s going to impact the way you view your identity? Another one, what we watch often on TV or on the Internet heavily impacts the way we view our identity. We may think it’s so innocent. It’s just a TV show.  But through the TV show they’ll subtly or overtly express ideas that are so unbiblical and we end up consuming them.

That’s why you see that from the way people dress, to the way people talk and the way people behave…all of that is being influenced by media. As believers we must be careful with what we watch because of the way it impacts our identity.

2. We are powerless: No amount of human effort can transform people’s hearts (v25 & 28-29)

25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

28 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me. 29 Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

Perhaps one thing we can definitely understand from Nehemiah’s ministry is that he was very zealous. In this case however even though the intent was to remove and cleanse the evil that was in the nation, it still was abusive. The last chapter did talk about Nehemiah’s reforms but in his zeal did it actually lead people to repentance? So no matter what he tried, he still couldn’t change people because the problem wasn’t just in their behavior and action, the problem lied in their hearts! SIN!

Jesus clearly understood our hearts and described it perfectly. In Matt 15:19, Jesus says: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person.”

It’s what’s in your heart that needs to be healed first. How have you approached your fight against sin? How have you approached your devotion to God? Is it by doing certain things, by completing a list or is it by having your heart transformed? Have you come to that place where you admit that no amount of human effort can actually change you? Only God can change your heart! If you are in that place waiting, help is there.

3. We are self-righteous: We always assume that we are more righteous than who we truly are (v30, 31)

Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; 31 and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

Nehemiah undoubtedly was active in removing the evil that was in the nation and bringing things to order but he ends the entire episode with no mention of his own faults. We see a humbled and penitent Nehemiah in Chapter 1 where he’s pleading and confessing his own sins alongwith the sins of the people. Now there’s no confession in his prayer.

This happens a lot when you’re leading or discipling other people. Often you’ll think that the passage you read only applies to the person you’re leading. You’re always thinking of ways you can apply that Scripture to the other person. It’s all good but is that Scripture reading you? The root issue is because we often think we’re more righteous than whom we truly are.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (1 John 1:8, 9)

The true display of the Spirit’s work in a person’s life is not in the denial of sin but in the growing awareness of sin and repentance! That’s why repentance is not a one-time activity for a believer, it is a continuous lifelong activity until the believer becomes like Christ!

Guess what…even the most hardened unbeliever thinks he is more righteous than he is. That’s why even after the gospel is shared, he won’t budge because he doesn’t think it’s required for him. Only the person who truly sees his sin for what it is knows why he needs Jesus.

Have we identified the sin of self-righteousness in our hearts? Have we been denying the actual presence of sin in our lives or has it been brought to the light in confession?

We’ve just seen three different truths about our human condition: We are prone to forget our identity in God, no amount of human effort can transform people’s hearts, and we think we are more righteous than we are. Where we failed is where Jesus succeeded.

He was completely aware and in sync with His identity with the Father, his effort is complete and can transform people’s hearts, he was the only person who lived a life that was considered perfectly righteous by the Father! Our frail and wicked lives were the reason why we deserved to die. But Christ showed His compassion and love by dying in our place on the cross.

Three days later he rose from the grave to give us our true identity: united with God forever, to give us a new heart and to give us a new righteousness! His own righteousness! We receive it in repentance and faith! If we ask ourselves, which of the three has been the hindrance this past week:

Forgetting our identity, Our Self-Efforts or Our Self-Righteousness? Can we turn from it and run to Jesus receiving what He has already done for us?