Tag: Christ

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Ephesians Sermon The Church

Purpose of the Church – Ephesians 3:8-10

We are currently doing a series on the topic called ‘The Church’.

Last Sunday, we learnt ‘WHAT is church’.

We learnt that church is not a building or a structure but a family of people redeemed by the blood of Christ –  Joined together in Him, Citizens of a heavenly Kingdom and a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

This Sunday our goal is to discover the WHY and the passage we will be looking at is Ephesians 3:8-10.

For a Christian it is important to know the WHY of the Church because it unlocks the WHY of our own personal lives. In a fast-paced, ambition-driven, need-based society we are often distracted and blinded from discovering the God given purposes of our lives. We often define the purpose of our lives based on our upbringing, cultural influences and selfish desires of our hearts.

I believe as we discover the WHY of the Church it will allow us to see how our own lives are woven in this beautiful relationship with God and with one another. We will learn that for a Christian, outside of this relationship, life doesn’t exist.

Instead of realising this truth on our death bed when everything we strive for in life seem to fade away, its better to realise it now so we can live a happy and satisfied life in God, also leaving back a legacy for our next generation to follow and aspire.

If you are someone who really desires this life then follow with me… in Ephesians 3:8-10 where Apostle Paul writes…

To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

I’m going to focus on five ‘key-phrases’ from this passage and use them interchangeably to explain what it reveals about the Purpose of the church.

The five phrases are:

“The very least of us”

“Preach to the gentiles”

“Unsearchable riches of Christ”

“Mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things”

“Through the Church”

The first key phrase I want to begin with is ‘through the church’.

Brothers & sisters, since the time we fell into Sin and made a mess of our lives, God’s been doing such amazing things to restore us back to Him, through generations old and new. And in the new covenant of Christ the important thing we all need to learn is that everything God has done in history post Jesus, what God is doing in the present and what God is about to do in the future is through the church.

Not through any single man or even a party, standing isolated from the world, shouting and yelling at the top of their voice – whether political or religious. It’s only through the church – the redeemed people of God – including you and me sitting right now in this small little dance rehearsal hall.

And here’s what is He is doing?

His is revealing “His manifold wisdom” to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

The very forces that are against the coming Kingdom of God, making every effort to destroy precious lives through deception and manipulations, in the name of tradition, culture, political freedom, health, wealth and prosperity. Non of which is bad by itself, bad only when its used to distract us from the truth – the ‘manifold wisdom of God’

This manifold wisdom of God is the “mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things”

Let’s take a step back and consider who we are talking about here.

We are not talking about a new movement started by a political or a business leader who wants to change the world – and we chose whether we want to go with Him or not. We are talking about God who created all things for His pleasure and none of us have a choice not to follow Him. Our choice will determine whether we will live eternity in heaven or in hell.

The mystery that was hidden for ages is ‘Christ’. Colossians 1:27 “God chose to make known how great among the gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory”

When God made this world, he made us in his image, he wanted us to walk humbly and obediently in his presence, honouring him, glorifying him, worshipping him – but instead we chose to disobey and rebel because of which we had to be thrown out of this beautiful relationship and also away from his joy-giving, peace-filled promises – promise of a good life which we were meant to live when he created us – to live in a peaceful world.

The mystery is that now through Christ’s life, death and resurrection, as we repent and believe in him, we can be restored back into that relationship, which also unlocking the ‘the unsearchable riches of Christ’ in us – the privilege of been adopted in His family, to be co-heir with Christ in heaven. – bestowed with the power to do greater things than He who sent us, to be change makers, mountain movers, pace setters, leaders of this world.

He chooses “the very least of us” as Paul points out about his own election. Not the healthy, wealthy, prosperous and wise people of this world but the sick, the poor, the needy and foolish people like us – and then joining us together, calling us church and sending us out into the world …

To do what?

“To preach to the gentiles the good news of this mystery which is Christ”, the hope of glory to each and every person who believes in Him.

In all this God is seeking His glory and the purpose of the church is to Glorify Him as we preach the gospel and see hearts been transformed.

The purpose of the church is not just gathering people every Sunday morning, singing songs and having a great fellowship. The purpose of the church, of every individual sitting here is to take this good news that which we sing about and cherish every Sunday morning, go out into the world and preach it to the dying world – in our neighbourhood, in our workplace, in our society, in our city, in our nation and the ends of the world.

How?

Through our lifestyle, our attitude, our behaviour, our love for one another, our service – but most importantly through our WORDS.

The word ‘preach’ means public proclamation, advocating the truth of the Gospel in every way possible. A lot of people quote St Francis of Assisi who said “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words”… That’s not what the scripture tells us – It tells us to go out and preach it.

In the world where humans (the image bearers of the God) are fighting against war, global warming, corruption, injustice, slavery, rape, abuse of power, religious oppression, CAA & NRC on the basis of ethics, values & human rights. God wants his church, the redeemed people of God to rise up and become channels through which he revels his manifold wisdom, the mystery hidden in Christ, the hope for all the problems – through public proclamation.

This is the ultimate purpose of the Church. And this is the ultimate purpose of every believer.

Just as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness for the people to see and be saved. We, the church are called to lift up Son Jesus to this world and call them out to repent of their sins and put their faith in Him so that their souls may be saved and restored.

There is nothing to be ashamed of while preaching the Gospel because we are not selling an insurance policy, we are proclaiming the truth, the only truth that can save them. Ultimately, its their choice whether to take it or not.

And before I point finger at you and ask you whether you are doing so, I want to confess my own failure to do so, because of my fears and insecurities. I think I sometimes fool myself by thinking that I am preaching the Gospel every Sunday, to every like minded brother and sister who comes to me for counselling. But I believe there is a difference between preaching the Gospel in a safe environment like this and preaching to the gentiles as Paul writes where my life can be in danger, where I am susceptible to rejection, mockery, hatred etc.

Church, lets rise up – to our calling, to our purposes, to our destiny.

Jesus said “Go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

This is mandate given to the church, to every person sitting in this room.

This doesn’t mean that we throw off our jobs, abandon our responsibilities. But it means to recognise the context in which God has placed us, whether at work, in family, in society. And as we are participating in our daily earthly chores and fulfilling our God given responsibilities we are aware that our primary goal is to Glorify God by lifting up the name of His son Jesus, by preaching the good news to the gentiles, making disciples and teaching them to obey God.

In concluding my talk, I want to pray and plead with God for my heart this morning, to make bold and courageous, to become intentional in sharing the Gospel to my lost friends, neighbors, colleagues, and if that is what you feel convicted of this morning, I want to you to join me in praying and pleading with God.

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Ephesians Sermon The Church

The Church: Ephesians 2:19-22

Today we shall look study Ephesian 2:19-22,

I titled my sermon as ” The church”. Bible uses the word “Body” as a metaphor of church,

Each part of the body has a different role. Similarly, each one of us has different roles in the body of Christ.

If we don’t know our roles and if we don’t work together, we will face confusion in the body of Christ, so in order to know the purpose of the church these few weeks, we are taking up the doctrine of Church, so that we all will understand what church is, the purpose and role of the church, and build up strong, biblical and healthy church.

Background of Ephesian.

We know apostle Paul wrote this letter, This letter to the Ephesian was written in Rome and was the first of the prison letters, written in 60 AD.

The theme of this epistle is

 “The church, Christ Body.”

Ephesian focus on the Basic Doctrine of the Church. What it is and how believers function within it.

The first 3 chapters of Ephesian emphasize doctrine and the last 3 chapters emphasize behaviour.

Meaning of Church

The word Church (Ekklesia) comes from 2 Greek words, “Ek” which means ‘out’, “Kaleo” which means ‘to call’.

So Ekklesia(Church) means – called out ones.

Thus it means that the church is a group of people who are called out from the darkness of this world to marvellous light to be a special people to serve the living God.


Remember the church is not a building which we go to, or denominations or social activities you take up.

Text Ephesian 2:19-22.NASB.

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,

20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone,

21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy [b]temple in the Lord,

22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

In order to understand these passages we shall go back to the previous verses.

Chapters 2 talk about the condition of the church before they received Christ.

  1. You were dead in your trespasses and sin. (2:1)
  2. You used to live in the ways of the world. (2:2)
  3. Walk according to the desire of Satan. (2:2)
  4. Living in the lust of the flesh. (2:3)
  5. Children of wrath. (2:3)
  6. Separated from God.  (2:12)
  7. Living without hope and without God. (2:12)

But the great news is in Ephesian 2:4-5.

4. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

 5 even when we were dead [f]in our transgressions, made us alive together [g]with Christ (by grace you have been saved).

He chose us before the foundation of the world.(1:4).

Redemption through His blood(1:7)

Forgave our sin according to the richest of His grace. (1:7)

He has adopted us (1:5).

Sealed us by the Holy Spirit. (1:13)

Brought peace in our life.  (2:14)

He reconciled us to the Father.(2:16)

And Paul continues in verse 19-22,

We shall see 5 points under these texts.

  1. The church is the citizens of God’s kingdom. (19a).

19. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the [p]saints, and are of God’s household.

– Our permanent home is in heaven we are just passing this world. John 14:1-2 Jesus is preparing a place for us and He is coming back.

– We belong to God’s kingdom.

Illustration: Matthew 7:21-24.

Application: are you sure of your citizenship in heaven.

Let us examine ourself and confess our sins and surrender our life to Christ.

  1. The church is the family or household of God. (19b)

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the [p]saints, and are of God’s household”

Not only citizenship but be we are now God’s beloved family.

Illustration: Prodigal son Luke 15.

Application: Are you in the Father house?

  1. The church is built in the foundation of Christ. 20.

20 “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.”

Illustration: Two builders, wise and foolish builder’s. Matthew 7:24-27.

Cf Psalm 127:1-2.

Application: Are you building up your life in Christ foundation?

  1. The church are joined together to grow in Christ. 21.

“21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,”

We need to work together, we need to come together as one body in this church and grow together in Him.

Illustration: A baby that never grow.

We believe we need spiritual food daily. Meditating on the word of God and praying.

Application : Are you growing daily in the Lord?

  1. The church is a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. (22)

“In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”

The day you received Christ, Holy Spirit dwell in you. How are you maintaining your heart?

Illustration: Corinthian church.

1Corinthian 6:19-20.

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.

Application: Are you bringing glory to God through your body?

God bless you.

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Philippians Sermon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. We give because God first gave

God is a generous giver.

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

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

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

2. We give to receive increasing fruit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And finally…

3. We give to increase our joy in Christ

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Philippians Sermon

Believers life in Christ : Philippians 4:4-7

Good morning brothers and sisters in Christ, I am delighted to stand before you to share this good news, I am thankful to God and to our pastors for this opportunity. last Sunday we have listen and encouraging sermon on a topic “Finding joy in imperfection” today we will continue from Philippians 4:4-7, under a topic “Believers life’s in Christ”

Read The text: Philippians 4:4-7.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

1. Believer always Rejoice in the Lord. (4) 

When we look around the world we see brokenness everywhere, we see women being rape, women and children are molested, we see divorce, we see broken family, we see corruption everywhere, people killing each other, people suicide out of depression, we see and hear natural calamities all around, we see sickness and diseases everywhere, we see poverty and hunger everywhere, We see brokenness everywhere. Paul Himself is in painful Jail but he is encouraging Philippians believers to rejoice in the Lord. let us see Why Paul is saying to rejoice in the Lord always? 

1. Because of who Christ is? He is God, the second person of Trinity, He is the wonderful counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting father and the prince of peace. Isaiah 9:6. He is our risen saviour, our redeemer, our King, our High Priest, our Chief Shepherd, our Advocate. psalm 23. the Lord is mine. 

2. Because of what He has done? * He sacrifice His life for the sin of the whole Humanity. * He was punished for our sin. * He forgave us our sin. * He is redeemed us. * He gave us the peace of God * He gave us eternal life. * Our name are written in the book of life. Isaiah 53. 

3. Because of what He will do? *He is preparing a place for us * one day He will wipe away all our tears. *He will give us a reward *We will receive the glorified body. *We will be with Him eternally with our saviour. Rev. 21. John 14. My Question Are you rejoicing in the Lord? Or are you rejoicing in something else? It can be your family, it can be your husband or wife, or boyfriend or girls friend It can be money, it can be success it can be pleasures of this world. all this will give us a temporary joy, but the real Joy which Christ offer us is everlasting Joy. 

Illustration: Jim Carey says “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they are not the answer.” 

JESUS IS THE ANSWER Illustration: Paul life was such an inspiring life In his suffering He rejoice in the Lord. His success and prestigious means nothing compare to knowing Christ. His satisfaction and joy is in Christ alone. 2 Cor. 11:24-31. 5 time he received lashes, He was beaten with rods, pelted with stones, 3 times in a ship wrecked, many sleepless night. experience hunger and cold, often without food. often lock up in jail and humiliated. 

Application: Remember as a believers our real joy is in Christ alone and we should rejoice in Him everyday because He love us and He delight in us. We should be happy like apostle Paul in the midst of all pain and sorrow because God has an amazing hope and amazing future for our life. Turn to your neighbour and encourage him/her by saying: 2. Believer live their life in gentle spirit. (5) Gentleness also refers to meekness, humility, modesty, calmness. Illustration: when a adultery woman was brought to Jesus, He deal with gentleness. Jesus was not angry with her but genteelly He correct her and tell her your sin are forgiven go and sin no more. 

Philippians 2. 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 

Application: 

Are you gentle in spirit? Let Christ be our perfect model, let us be like him in our everyday life. 

Colossians 3:12. 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 4:6. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Galatians 5:22-23. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. James 1:19. Know this, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Proverb 25:28. A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. 

3. Believer live a prayerful life. (6) # My life Wedding testimony 

Be Anxious / worry for nothing. But in everything By Prayer / Supplication with Thanksgiving let your request be made know to God. 

Worry is sin and worry is doubting the work of God. many people worry so much about life, about their future. about their children life, about their health, about their financial security, about their Job, about their life partner, they worried for so many things in life. but the good news is God doesn’t want us to be worry of life. He want us to totally depend and totally trust in Him. and He want to take care of our life and our problem. 

Matthew 6. Jesus said, not to worry of what you will eat or drink or wear. Gentiles eagerly seek all these things. But Jesus said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you” Instead of being worried scripture reminds us that we should pray. Believers should live a prayerful life because 1) Prayer help us to connect God. John 15:5. (Phone charging example) 2) Prayer is a command. Phil.4:6. 1 Thess 5:17. (prayerlessness is sin.) 3) Prayer help us to overcome temptation. (Daniel life) 4) Prayer is the antidote to anxiety. phil.4:6. not (world counsellors) 5) Prayer is the greatest weapon against devil. (Christ temptation) Matt 4. (Eph 6.) 

# Christ is our great model, He himself is God but he spent most of His time spending with prayer. if He live a prayer life how much more do we need to pray. # Martin Luther says “I have so much to do that i shall have to spent the first 3 hours in prayer.” 

Do you know what will happen when we don’t pray. 1. You will have less and less desire of God. 2. Stress and anxiety rule over your life. 3. Loss of ongoing sanctification. 4. More Crisis and confusion in life. 5. God doesn’t bring joy to your heart and Go far away from God. 6. Other things fill Gods place. 7. Experience emptiness in heart. 8. We make wrong decision in life. 9. We are easily deceived / easily defeated. 10. Become a stumbling block to others. 11. Fail to share good news to others. 

Application. How is your prayer life? Are you seriously a praying Christian? Are you satisfy with your prayer life? or do you think you need to pray more. I think I need to pray more, You need to pray more, My family / your family need to pray more. We as a church need to pray more. When an individual start praying, when a church start praying, God do wonder works. We should remember a Prayer less christian is a powerless Christian. Let us begin 

Everyday with prayer Spend everyday with prayer Close everyday with prayer. When you are confused pray, when you are weak pray, when you are sad pray, when you lose pray, when you face all kind of hardship pray, when you are happy pray, when you succeed pray, prayer is the powerful weapon where we can reach God. Without prayer we can do nothing, but with prayer we can conquer everything. 

4. Believers have peace of God in their heart. (7) 

Every believers have peace in their life and this peace of God guard their heart and mind. Beloved we are in the christmas season, we know God love us so much that He send His only begotten Son, to bring reconciliation and peace to mankind. 

Isaiah 9:6. 6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

He is the prince of peace. 

Romans 5:1. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. John 14:27. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. 

The peace that Christ offer is not like the peace of the world, the world give temporary. For example. we see UN peace mission, we saw peace treaty in second world war between Allied and Axis, but the war is still going on in different part of the world, this is the best example of peace offer by the world. 

But Christ gave us the real and eternal peace, you can received His peace by Repenting all your sin and accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour. 

Illustration : Have you any room for Jesus. “Room for thee” 

Application: If you are having hard time trying to find the real inner peace, Taste the real peace of Christ today, don’t wait for another moment received the peace in His name. Matthew 11:28-31. 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

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Jude Sermon

The Doxology- Jude 1:24-25

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

Let’s start by answering this question: “What is a Doxology?” Put most simply, it’s praise; it’s adoration; it’s exalting God. But it’s praising Him in a way that operates by a sort of formula. And the formula is actually important. Here’s how it goes. The author will make a statement about something that God has done, or something that God is doing, and then points to the attributes of God that support those statements.

For example, you could say, “To Him who frees the captive and rescues the oppressed, to Him belong unmatched compassion & mercy.” Or “To Him who is able to heal the sick & give sight to the blind, to Him belong all wisdom & power.” So, it’s essentially an overflow of praise and worship of God by stating something that God has done or is doing, and by highlighting the attributes that have contributed to that action.“God has done this, because He is like this.”

That’s different than a Benediction. There are many benedictions listed out in Scripture; usually at the end of a letter like this one. A benediction is different because it flows from God to His people. It’s God announcing a blessing over His people. A Doxology moves in the opposite direction; it’s the people of God blessing Him as they worship, adore and exalt His name. That’s what Jude is doing at the end of this letter. He’s highlighting the work that God does in the life of the believer, but not in a cold, academic sense. Rather, it’s coming from a place of deep worship and praise from the heart of Jude.

You can almost sense Jude’s heart overflowing with praise, and worship and exaltation of God because of everything He’s done & because of who He is. It’s almost like Jude breaks out into song at the end of the letter. That’s what the Doxology is. Now, here’s why that’s important for us. The goal of Jude’s letter is to exhort us to contend for the faith by keeping ourselves in the love of God. So, we’re certainly called to do things. But Jude reminds us that everything we do must be rooted in our identity in Jesus Christ. That’s what leads to this kind of worship.

I think that’s important for us to remember this morning. When we interact with God’s Word, it isn’t meant to be an academic exercise where we’re just gleaning information. No, the information is for the purpose of transformation, where we’re living differently because of our new identity in Jesus Christ. In other words, if our study of Scripture is just about information, we’re in trouble. Have you ever thought about this:  Judas heard all Jesus’ sermons. That’s something to think about, isn’t it? Judas listened to all of Jesus’ teachings. Heck, even the demons have all of the information about God. They know what’s true. But that doesn’t mean that they’re experiencing the joy, and freedom, and peace, and satisfaction and contentment that comes from knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and as Lord. Because theology apart from a heart captured by the gospel is just reduced to dangerous information. But, on the other hand, theology that’s being applied to a gospel-soaked heart leads to transformation. And that gives birth to the ever-increasing, white-hot, worship of God. That’s what the Doxology was for Jude, and it’s where our hearts must land as well.

So, with that in mind let’s break this down according to the formula that we just discussed. Question 1:  “What does Jude say that God has done, or is doing, or even will do?” And question 2:  “What are the attributes of God that have contributed to His actions?” Let me lay out the mechanics of this up front, and then we can move through and unpack it all. First, Jude lists 2 actions of God:

1) God keeps us from stumbling

2) He presents us blameless before His glory with great joy

We’ll explore the truth & the implications of those 2 areas. And then we’ll spend just a few minutes ascribing God the worship He’s due by listing the attributes of God that have contributed to these 2 things. Jude points to God’s:

A) Glory

B) Majesty

C) Dominion

D) Authority

And then, at the end of our time, I want to show you how all of this works together to drive our hearts to Jesus. So let’s start by talking about what it means that “God keeps us from stumbling.” In fact, before we even get to that statement, let’s just start with this phrase:  “To Him who is able.” Let’s just sit in & be reminded of that this morning — OUR GOD IS ABLE. Isn’t that amazing? He is able to do all things. Some of you just need to be reminded of that this morning. That, no matter the circumstance that you find yourself in, your God is able!

“Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to the gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages” (Romans 16:25)

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” (Ephesians 3:20)

“I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

“For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18)

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

We could go on, but I think you get the point:  Our God is ABLE. Do you realize what that means? No one is too far gone. No situation is beyond Him. Nothing is outside of His reach. All things are possible with our God. He is the One who knows no beginning and no end. He’s the One who created everything out of nothing. HE IS ABLE!! And what does He use His ability to do? “HE KEEPS YOU FROM STUMBLING.” This is talking about perseverance — making it to the end. We have a hand in that, for sure. But it’s based on God’s ability and strength, not our own.

Here’s a principle that has helped me: “God PRESERVES us by empowering us to PERSEVERE in Him.” Here’s what that means practically: Everything that God has called us to walk in fits perfectly with the fact that it’s His power that’s enabling and fueling all of it. In other words, His working enables our working.

We are being kept by God as He’s at work in us according to His purposes. And that is a miracle! If you were to just sit down and think about your sin patterns. If you were to think about what you struggle with — the tendencies that you have to rebel against God in your heart. When I think about that stuff, it’s a miracle that He keeps me. But He does — praise God He does! And, it’s not just that He keeps us from stumbling. That’s incredible in an of itself. That already causes worship to spring up in the heart. But, it goes beyond that.

Jude says that He’s able to present us BLAMELESS before the presence of His glory. Now, I don’t know about you, but this is what absolutely floors me. Talk about a miracle! When you start to think about the Holiness of God, and the grandeur, and the splendor of His glory. The idea that we would ever be able to stand in the presence of His glory is stunning. Because our sin has separated us from the presence of God and the ability to be in the presence of His glory. That was all lost in the fall when sin entered the world.

You get a picture of just how severe this separation is when you think about Moses’ conversation with God in Exodus 33. You might remember that Moses us up on the mountain with God and he asks this question:  (it’s verse 18) he says, “Please show me your glory!” Remember God’s answer? “NO!” In verse 20 God says, “You can’t see my face, because no one can see me and live.” Why? Why can no one behold the Lord & live? Because He’s holy. Which means that He’s perfect, He’s spotless, He’s righteous, He’s completely without blemish or defect. And we are broken, we are fractured by sin, corrupted, and blemished. Romans 3:23 says, “we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Ephesians 2 says, “we are dead in our trespasses and sins..” Titus 3 says that “we hate each other and are ruled by malice toward God.”

Moses can’t behold the glory of God because it would kill him because of the separation that sin brings. So, what does God do instead? He says to Moses, “I want you to go stand on this rock. I’m going to put you in the crevasse of the rock and then I will cover you with my hand. And I’ll cause my glory to pass you by as I’m veiling you. And as I take away my hand, I’m going to let you see my back.” And, that’s what God did. And Exodus 34 tells us that, after Moses came down the mountain, there was a light coming off of his face that shone so bright that he actually had to put a veil over his face when he talked to people. And that was just from seeing a glimpse of the back of God moving away from him.

Allow this truth to wash over your soul this morning. Because God has placed us IN THE ROCK we are able, not just to catch a glimpse of God’s back moving away from us, but we are able to behold His glory and by changed by it. Because of Jesus, our lives are defined, not by separation from God, but by reconciliation to God. Where we’ve been given access to His glory; which is the thing that is transforming us. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”

It’s His glory that is driving our sanctification, as we behold it now. But it’s His glory that will complete this work, as we’re presented to Him and made glorious in Him. Jude is giving us a picture of what it will look like to stand before God in judgment, and be declared BLAMELESS. Not because of our own ability, but because of His ability. If this is based on our own effort — our own merit — then we’re guilty and under His condemnation. We are able to stand on the last day, not because of anything done by us, but because of what God has done for us, and to us, and because of His power to sustain us.

Listen to how the author of Hebrews paints the picture of our presentation before God based on His ability and work. This is Hebrews 12:21-24: “Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

This thing that made Moses tremble and would cause the death of anyone who beheld it, is what we’re presented before — BLAMELESS — because we have been made righteous by Jesus Christ (the mediator of the new covenant). Now let me ask you, what does that to to your soul? Can you feel worship begin to swell up inside you? I hope so! This is all leading to an overflow of praise to God for who He is and for the attributes that contribute to this incredible salvation that He’s purchased for us.

His Glory, which is the holiness of God on display. God’s glory is the manifestation of His holiness. It’s the infinite beauty and greatness of God on display. His Majesty, which is God’s Sovereign power at work to keep us, to sustain us, to preserve us and to present us blameless. His Dominion, which is His rule over all. It’s based on the fact that God created everything and so He owns everything — including you and me. Which means that He gets to exercise His authority as the final arbiter over all things, because their is nothing higher than Him.

All of this is contributing to God’s ability to keep us from stumbling and to present us blameless before the presence of His glory. Now, with all of that in view, where does that leave us? Well, here’s where all of this is leading us. I believe that Jude’s intention of the letter is that our hearts would be driven to Jesus Christ, because He’s the thing that connects all of the dots for us. Pay close attention to this phrase in our passage:  “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jude is saying, “Here’s who God is, and here’s what God has done. The only way we can experience that is through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is no other way!”

The gospel is glorious, but it’s gloriously exclusive. It has to be, because the problem of sin is too great of an offense — the only option is death. Which is why the only way to be reconciled to God, the only way to be made blameless, the only way to have right standing with Him again and to have your sin removed, is for God Himself to trade places with you.This is substitutionary atonement. Jesus Christ died in your place, taking your sin upon Himself, so that you can have right standing before God and be reconciled to Him. Paul is explicit in 2 Corinthians 5:21:  “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Jesus was explicit in John 14:6:  “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The truth is that no one can be kept from stumbling unless it’s through Jesus Christ. And no one can be presented blameless before the glory of God unless it’s through Jesus Christ. And we are only found in Jesus Christ by grace and through faith in Him.

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Philippians Sermon

Joy-filled Pursuits – Philippians 3:15-21

Today’s passage Philippians 3:15-21

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

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

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

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

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

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

But that’s not what Paul would define it, because he would not claim to have achieved that level of perfection himself. In 3v12, Paul writes “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baby Christians Handle the Word of God Poorly – 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Practical advice #2: Imitate those who imitate Christ 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s how Paul helps us identify such men:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Categories
Ephesians Sermon Unity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alienated & divided because of Sin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And what is the Truth? 

United through Christ

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Without Christ, Unity has no purpose.

Without Christ, Unity has no meaning,

Without Christ, Unity is not possible.

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

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

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

Group Discussion Questions:

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

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

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

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

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Ephesians Sermon Unity

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

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

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

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

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

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

And therefore, Unity matters.

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

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

READ

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

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

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

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

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

What does this tell us?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let’s pray.

Group discussion Questions:

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

Joy in Suffering – Philippians 1:27-30

As a church, we’ve been going through a series titled “A Joy Filled Life” from the letter to the Philippians. As we’ve been studying this letter, we realize that this “joy” that is being described in this letter is being experienced not through the best of scenarios and circumstances.

One would imagine someone who speaks about joy to be in a beautiful, calm, pleasant, pain-free environment but Paul actually writes this letter about joy in a prison cell. One of the verses that encouraged all of us last weekend was v21 – “To live is Christ and to die is gain”.

So much is the joy and treasure found in the midst of a prison cell and in suffering. And what we will see this week is not only was Paul undergoing suffering but also was the church at Philippi. Their circumstances were no less difficult and challenging than Paul’s. Read with me in v27-30

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy[h] of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

I want to ask this question to a few of us whose home isn’t in Mumbai. You’ve moved cities and come to Mumbai for either work or studies. Do you remember the last thing your parents told you before you left home?

Probably something on the lines of: make sure you eat well. Make sure you’re staying in a good locality and make sure that you have good friends. And every time they call you, these are the same things that they check on you.

It’s coming from a place of concern and they want to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself in their absence. And in some similar ways I think Paul is trying to make sure that the Philippian church is doing well. Paul after all is their spiritual father in the faith.

He brought the gospel to them, discipled them, nurtured them and you’d have to believe that they were dependent on him as well. But now they find themselves in a position where he’s far from them bound in a prison cell while they are in Philippi without their spiritual father facing persecution for the same faith.

What is the most important thing for them to know, believe and obey right now? When we go through real persecution in our homes and workplaces because of our faith…what is the most important thing we need to know, believe and obey?

V27 says: Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel. The Greek phrase for manner of life is actually “behave or conduct yourself as a citizen who has been changed by the gospel”.

You might be a citizen of Rome or India but your true citizenship is of heaven and you must live a life in line with the gospel. I hope all of us have this question right now – okay, but what is a life worthy of the gospel? It’s a life that recognizes that it’s 

Because of God and not because of us

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

As we think about our past – we don’t look at it as glory or something great but rather as being lost and dead. We were not great but dead. In our rebellion and sin, we were incapable of turning to God and responding to God by ourselves.

That’s what “dead” means. But here’s God’s commitment toward us. He reveals his goodness and loving kindness. Which means that we deserved condemnation and destruction but God chose to show us kindness. And this kindness is not because of good works or great efforts (filthy rags) but because of God’s mercy.

Because we were dead, God had to wash what was unclean and repair the broken wiring through the Holy Spirit. This wonderful gift was made possible only because God’s Son – Jesus Christ fully and sufficiently paid the complete price on the cross. He didn’t pay half. He didn’t pay 75%. He paid it all! And He rose again to declare the work is done and those who commit and surrender their lives to Jesus Christ (not me but because of Him) will have no reason to fear God’s judgment but instead enjoy God’s love and fellowship.

That’s why it’s so essential for us to know “It’s Because of God, not because of us”. That’s the theme of the Christian life. Every single day we wake up, we remind ourselves of the same. Every single Sunday we come to the Gathering, we say the same thing. We sing the same thing.

For God and not for us

Sometimes there is this misconception that because of the gospel and grace, it lowers the standard of holiness for God’s people. And that’s absolutely not true. If anything, it raises the standard and shows that we all have a higher calling. 

You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Cor 6:19,20) – You belong to God. You are His. Live for Him.

14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. – Old man – Old person – dead…if you’ve understood and responded to love of God, then your Boss has changed. Your Master has changed. Your reason to live has changed.

Out of Love

And this obedience and pursuit of holiness and living a life worthy of the gospel isn’t done out of reluctance or unwillingness – it is done out of love. 

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (John 14:15) – We obey out of love for Christ. Our motivation for obedience also has radically changed through the gospel. We read the Bible each morning not because we expect some blessing from God but out of love.

We share the gospel with the people in our lives not out of compulsion but out of love. We pursue holy living not to earn God’s favour but out of love for God. We repent of our sins not only because we want to be guilt-free but because we love Christ and we want to grow in a relationship with Him. 

And that’s the most important thing for all of us to know, believe and obey each and every day! Even if this is the only thing that you remember from today – that’s great because we need to live a manner of life worthy of the gospel. We need to remind each other about this same thing every every day. 

Here’s Paul’s application for the Philippian believers. He’s telling them that the gospel of Christ & living a manner worthy of the gospel was going to produce:

1. Internal Unity

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy[h] of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

Although the Philippian church was fruitful, generous, obedient, like any other church they also had divisions and fights among them. We’ll be reading a little more about that in the coming chapters but their greatest struggle was to find unity among the members.

Think about this guys – imagine an army of one nation trying to battle against another army. What would happen if one of those armies started fighting amongst themselves? Total chaos and a lost war. 

You can imagine how divisions and fights within the church affect the witness of the church. 

This is what Mahatma Gandhi said: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” And so many like him are put-off by what happens in a church & that’s why there are some people who chose not to be a part of a church because they see the mess that’s in it. 

When we come together as a church – we do bring alongwith us our sins and differences which is why there is going to be conflict. But instead of quitting and leaving the church because of the conflict that is in it, Christ calls us to commitment.

We are sinful, we are broken, we are different but the beauty is in seeing how Christ unites us and restores us through the gospel. 

Imagine right now if there is a conflict within our church – what do we do? How do we deal with this issue? Take sides? No. We remind each other that we were saved not because of us but because of God’s mercy. That humbles us.

We remind each other that we live for God and not for us. No longer do we live for our own selfishness and pride. We remind each other that we will bear with each other and love each out of our love for Christ. No matter what we will fight for unity through forgiveness and repentance out of love for Christ.   

2. External Boldness

One thing that was happening at the time is that the Philippian church was being hit with persecution. The problem people had with Christians was not so much that they were following Christ but that they were failing to properly worship the community gods especially the emperor.

Does that sound familiar? The decision to follow Christ brought severe social (families cutting ties), economic (losing their jobs and business) and legal consequences (taken to court, harsh punishments and being labelled as traitors). And it’s in this context that Paul tells them that the gospel was going to produce boldness in front of their opponents. 

I know many times in churches we tend to focus on the happy and comfortable things – God’s love and peace and joy that He gives us but if we ignore this topic of “suffering” we end up missing out on a big part of what it means to be a Christian. Yes, you heard it right. Suffering for Christ – not for doing wrong – but for the gospel is a very important part of being a follower of Jesus. 

Yes, and this passage offers two very important things that I don’t want us to miss out on: 

i) Suffering is proof of your genuineness. (v28)

28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

Biblically – there are many tests that can help us understand if we are truly in the faith or not. One of those tests – is suffering – how we respond to suffering and if we are still standing in the midst of suffering reveals if we are genuine pakka believers or not. 

If we look like the world, act like the rest of the world, talk like the rest of the world and think like the rest of the world, there would actually be no persecution. The world aggressively hates and opposes believers because they are radically different from all of them.

So this should really makes us question ourselves – have we ever faced opposition from our unbelieving family members or our work colleagues or neighbours because of the gospel? And if we’ve faced them, how are we standing? I’m not saying that we won’t experience pain or fear but is the suffering leading us to reject Christ or depend on Him all the more because our faith is genuine!  I would challenge all of us to think on this.

ii) Suffering is a gift of God which indicates your union with Christ (v29)  

29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

Sometimes it seems contradictory, how can something like suffering be considered a gift from God. “The world will hate you because they hate me” is what Jesus said in John 15. All suffering because of the gospel ultimately happens because people are broken and rebellious toward Christ.

And the fact that that anger is directed toward us shows that we are His. We belong to Him. We are His family. He is united to us. And here’s the promise guys – God is not someone who allows us to suffer while He’s at a distance. His presence is not just with us but more powerfully experienced during times of suffering. 

1 Peter 4:4 – If you insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 

There are aspects of God’s character and love that we can only understand as we are suffering for Him. And that will deepen our love and faith in Him. 

Categories
Philippians Sermon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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