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1 Thessalonians Sermon

Can we misunderstand prayer? – 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

Good morning church! My name is Jinson Thomas and I’m thankful to God for this opportunity to share God’s Word with you this morning.


I hope our time today would be an encouragement in your faith. If someone would’ve told me at the start of this year concerning all the events that I was going to witness in 2020, I wouldn’t have believed it!



A pandemic that would ravage the entire globe causing 6.4 million people to be infected & 3.8 Lac deaths!!! Our state alone has recorded the highest number of cases (80,000 approx.) in the country and we have been in lockdown for 11 weeks now affecting people’s livelihoods & causing tremendous hardships for those who relied on daily wages.

People who are on salaried jobs are forced to take pay cuts or unfortunately even being laid off. It is a painful and difficult time. On top of that our country has witnessed 2 cyclones & even an attack from the locusts on our fields in the past month!

In terms of national security – there is trouble brewing on the border with China. I say this not to harp on discouraging news but rather to acknowledge that we stand here today at the backdrop of unimaginable fear and anxiety.

And we can sense this all around us – be it at our workplaces or in our schools or on the news, or on social media or in our neighbourhoods or even in the innermost places of our hearts. And what I believe today’s passage is telling us is that God has given us a wonderful & powerful tool called “prayer” but yet it’s something that is so easily misunderstood.  We misunderstand the purpose of “prayer” when we make it out to be something that it was never designed to be. 

What is the true purpose of prayer then? I’d ask you to look with me at our main text –

1 Thess 5:17-18:

17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

4 observations on prayer & thanksgiving:-

1. Prayer is not about performance but about trust (v17)

17 pray without ceasing

In other words, “Uninterrupted, incessant, continuous prayers”. When we hear this instruction “pray without ceasing”, what naturally goes through our mind? If I’m not wrong, many of us automatically think about it in terms of “performance”.

We think Paul is talking about “unceasing prayer” so that would mean “uninterrupted prayer 24/7 or praying during every waking moment” and then we try to measure ourselves against that standard on the basis of the time we’ve spent in prayer.

When we think on this performance mentality, we pat ourselves on the back and “feel more accepted and loved” by God on days when we’ve spent more time in prayer. On the other hand, on days when we’ve spent little time or neglected prayer, we feel “unloved and unaccepted” by God. And the man-made solution we come up with is “I need to pray more to be loved and accepted by God”.

I love the way Jerry Bridges puts it – he says “Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace”.

In other words, it’s not our “prayer performance” that makes God love and accept us, it’s God’s grace (God’s unmerited gift) that He has poured on us through His Son Jesus Christ. Okay, you may ask – so if we don’t pray to perform before God (to gain some brownie points), then why do we pray?

We pray because we exhibit our trust in God through prayer. We basically echo that God is strong and powerful and I’m not. I am in desperate need of God’s help. It’s not about performance but about trust.

I think this principle is illustrated beautifully in one of my favorite parables from the Bible – the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Both of them go to the temple to pray.

The Pharisee (super religious Jew) sees prayer as a means of performing before God. During his prayer, he keeps bragging about him not being as bad as the robbers, the evildoers, adulterers and even the tax collector who is standing behind him. Not just that he then adds that he fasts twice a week and gives a tenth of all that he gets.

At the same time, the tax collector (in those days were known as dishonest and wicked people) stood at a distance and wouldn’t even look up to heaven. Out of his sorrow due to this sin, he beats his chest and says “God have mercy on me a sinner”. He has nothing to brag about. All he is holding on is the “mercy of God”.

It’s interesting that Jesus ends the parable by the saying that the tax collected went home justified. God answered his prayer because it exhibited trust in Him. The Pharisee’s prayer since it relied on his own performance had no trust in God.

Therefore, I want us to realize that when Scripture tells us to “pray without ceasing”, its objective is not to push us to performance but rather to trust God in prayer with all the areas of our lives.

Just like the tax collector’s posture, we come to God humbly in prayer desperately asking God for help in our relationship with Him (we don’t want to be cold or lukewarm but growing in our love for Him), ask God for help to be pure for Him (we need His help to fight sin), ask God to help us with our work (the tasks, meetings and responsibilities for the day), ask Him to help us in our marriages, if we are single where we ask Him to prepare us for marriage & help us be faithful in this stage of waiting, in this time of uncertainty where we desperately ask God for wisdom, provision and protection.

God is glorified when His creatures trust Him. He didn’t create us to be self-sufficient. He created us to be dependent on Him & therefore prayer a wonderfully powerful tool that God has given us to trust Him.

2. Prayer means that we have unlimited access to God (v17)

The other thing we realize about “praying without ceasing” is that it means that there is no limit to the number of times I can communicate with God. Many of us who have had some experience of working or being part of a hierarchical organization know that the larger the organization is, the harder it is to get connected with the CEO or super boss of the organization if you are a regular employee.

In order to approach the CEO or have an interaction with him, you would probably need to go through multiple managers and heads & then get their approval to get a few minutes with him. And even if there is a rare opportunity to meet with the CEO, it’s quite likely that the next interaction will take a while.

Unlike this case where the CEO is distant and disconnected from regular employees, the amazing truth of the gospel is that every believer has unlimited access to God who is the Creator of the entire universe!

There’s no restriction on the access. There’s no red tape. There’s no certain set of formalities or approval required. That is actually a humbling yet exciting truth!

The other assumption for “unceasing prayer” is that we as believers can be confident to go back to God again and again because God will respond and answer our prayers.

Although God’s answer might not always be what we desire or expect because we think temporarily but God thinks eternally of how we can be shaped into Jesus fully, but yet God always answers!

Another favorite parable of mine is the parable of “the persistent widow”. There was a town in which there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. No moral standards & no compassion and care towards fellow humans – not a great candidate to be a judge.

And there was a widow (oppressed and poor probably) who kept coming to him asking him to grant her justice. Now he kept putting her off but after a while he yielded to giving her justice because he didn’t want to be bothered anymore.

And Jesus uses this lesser to great argument. “If this unjust judge was able to grant justice to the widow, do you think God neglect the chosen ones who cry out to him night and day? I tell you, he will see that they get justice quickly.”

How awesome this is? To know that we have God who never denies us access to Himself & also to know that He earnestly desires & delights in answering our prayers.

3.  Prayer and Thanksgiving is not based on our circumstances

18a give thanks in all circumstances

Thanksgiving means expressing gratefulness. What we see in v18 is that thanksgiving was never meant to be a seasonal activity. It was never intended to be the case where we only thank God when things go well and cease from thanking God during times of pain and difficulty.

Well, you might say – it was easier for the Thessalonian church because they weren’t facing the same troubles or stress that I’m going through right now!

However, when we look at this young Thessalonian church probably a few months old at this stage, we see them as a church not birthed in prosperity but in persecution. They were extremely unpopular and falsely accused of revolting against Caesar by following “another king Jesus”.

Paul who was with their spiritual father & strong support wasn’t present with them because he was driven out of the city by these same persecutors. Think about it – each day remained to be a risk for them ever since they followed Jesus.

With the unpopularity they faced, they too faced a very uncertain future. And in the midst of all that was happening to them, Paul tells them to give thanks in all circumstances! Why does Paul tell them that?

Because what the Thessalonian church and what we need to hear the most in our toughest of times is not optimistic advice but we need to grasp a picture of “Who God is & what He has done for us”!

We need to know how big, strong, compassionate, wise, loving, patient, faithful to His promises, in full control of destiny He is. And that happens through “thanksgiving and remembering”. 

As a church in our daily readings we have been going through Deuteronomy and in that I’ve been encouraged to see the numerous times God reminds the Israelites of the time when they were slaves in Egypt and how God brought them out with an outstretched arm.

And these reminders were not to guilt the Israelites or manipulate them. These reminders were given so that they could thank God for what He has done for them and also remind them that He is more than able to fulfill all the remaining promises He made to them.

It could be a gospel song, it could be your own testimony that you remind your own heart about (how God totally transformed your life) or it could be by placing visual reminders of God’s promises in front of you or maybe journaling God’s faithfulness.

There are a variety of things you can do to bring to remembrance and lead your heart to thanksgiving.

4.  Thanksgiving and prayer is a command and an invitation from God

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (v18b)

Do you want to know the will of God? God’s will for us is that we pray unceasingly and thank God in all circumstances! When we look at the word “will” in the Greek – it means a decree or command that’s being made by the highest authority.

But the word “will” also means “pleasure & intention” – which also tells us that God doesn’t want us to perform “prayers and thanksgiving” out of mere obligation but rather He intends that we do it in the context of a relationship with Him!   

I love that phrase “in Christ Jesus for you” because it reminds us that the basis of our relationship with God is because of Jesus Christ. In the beginning, God created us for a relationship with Him – to know Him, love Him and live for Him. But we willingly chose to go our own way running away from our Father toward our own pleasures & desires.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way (Isa 53:6) Like lost son or daughter, we found ourselves stuck in our own deep & dark pit of sin. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). We tried several attempts to fix the problem and get us out of the pit of sin but each time we fell back in again.

We thought our good works, righteous deeds & number of prayers would be sufficient to save us but none of that could fix our broken lives. When we were dying in that pit, our Father came looking for us and seeing us dying there He came to rescue us. His rescue mission involved giving up His one and only pure Son on the cross to pay for our rebellion and our sins.

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8) But the story doesn’t end there. Jesus Christ was buried and on the third Day He rose victoriously from the grave so that by trusting in Him we can not only be rescued from the deadly pit of sin but have a restored relationship with the Father forever.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12).

That’s so amazing that through Christ we are no longer enemies and slaves but are now children of God! Now through Jesus Christ, in our prayers we relate to the Father as “Abba Father” & as our “Papa”.

One verse that always stood out to me was Matt 6:7:  7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Why would the Father want us to pray even though He knows what we need even before I ask him?

It’s because our prayers and thanksgiving are not to be viewed like a vending machine or as a burdensome command to obey. The primary purpose for prayer is not merely to get what we want but to know God intimately. It’s as though God is telling us – Son / Daughter, prayer is an invitation for you to grow in your relationship with me.

Undoubtedly this season in life could be one of most difficult times for us. But God has given us a powerful tool to call for divine help through prayer! But that means that we would need to set aside our misunderstandings & baggage regarding prayer. What I’d ask us all to do now is to spend a few moments repenting to God regarding the misunderstandings and what we have made prayer out to be.

1. Repenting to God for making prayer about a performance rather than trusting Him will the areas of our life

2. Repenting for unbelief – Repenting for not believing that God is a good God who will answer our prayers

3. Repenting for forgetting Who God is and What He is able to do. Ask God to give us a heart of thankfulness that is not dependent on our circumstances

4. Repenting for making prayer out to be a burden by not seeing it as an invitation to grow in a relationship

And in faith trust in God’s forgiveness in Christ and ask God for grace to revive our prayer lives and make it what God intended prayer to be.

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1 Thessalonians Sermon

The Viral Gospel: 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10

Good morning Gathering

It’s such an honor to be with you this morning and it really is a gift to gather as God’s people in His presence like this.

We are continuing in a study that began last weekend of 1 Thessalonians. So, if you have a Bible with you, I’d invite you to turn there with me.

We’ll be looking specifically at 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10 this morning.

I think that all of us have a tendency to come into a church gathering and sort of go through the motions. To take this time for granted. I want to encourage you to recognize how sacred this time is for us this morning.

We get to approach The Word of God — which is God’s revelation to us about who He is & what He’s done & what that means for our lives.

We approach this living, active, breathing love letter from God. The thing that shapes us & molds us & corrects us & trains up. The thing that leads us into righteous.

We get to do that together as God’s people and see God move in our midst. As He changes us for His glory.

Brother & Sisters, this really is a sacred opportunity this morning

Let’s READ 1 THESSALONIANS 1:2-10

I want to spend some time this morning talking about THE VIRAL NATURE OF THE GOSPEL.

The concept of a virus that spreads rapidly should be one that we all understand pretty clearly right now given the dominant news around the world.

If you turn on any news outlet a lot of what you see is coverage of the Coronavirus.

The point for us is that the entire world is talking about this epidemic that could likely become a pandemic that’s spreading fear throughout the world. It’s almost like we’re conditioned toward fear whenever a new virus emerges.

As the virus spreads there’s fear, There’s uncertainty, There’s death. Well, this is how God designed the gospel to spread to the ends of the earth, But with a disease you have fear & death the gospel brings HOPE & LIFE.

The Apostle Paul gives us a picture of the viral nature of the gospel and how it spreads. He shows, how you and I are meant to be carriers of the gospel who infect people around us with our actions & with our words.

That’s what I want to look at today

I’d like you to hold onto this principle as we work our way through the text

Principle:  The gospel comes to us in power, it transforms us and then causes us to live radically transformed lives as it moves through us to people around us

In other words when the gospel invades the human heart, we’ll see is a movement of God upon us.

Which, He initiates with us, When that happens, it never leaves us alone it never leaves us the same. It radically transforms us at the core level of our nature and then radically transforms what comes out of our lives over time

To the point where it moves through us to infect & impact the people around us. That’s the principle that we talk about so often.

That’s what we’re talking about this morning and I want to flesh that out for you in 3 movements that we can observe in the text.

1) We have been chosen by God as objects of gospel renewal

Look again at verses 2-5… .“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.”

Please understand what Paul is driving us toward here: 
We are objects of gospel renewal. God acted upon us, He initiated with us, This renewal wasn’t our idea, Our idea was rebellion going our way instead of God’s way.

This is a common theme that we see in all of Paul’s writing.

In Titus chapter 3 Paul explains what life outside of Christ looks like. It’s a life that’s defined by selfishness & self-gratification. It’s marked by malice & envy & relational conflict. And then he describes how all of that changes, when God moves upon us

He says, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 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, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,”

Please don’t miss this,

You didn’t find God, He found you.
You didn’t choose God, He chose you.
You didn’t stumble upon the gospel, the gospel came to you IN POWER

You are an object of God’s love & mercy & grace. When He targets you, The gospel comes in Word & in Power, Meaning — it’s not just intellectual, it’s not just something that we hear & understand, It moves in our hearts in power to radically change us.

This is what Paul means when he says that it brings conviction. It awakens the heart to the truth of our sin & rebellion and convicts us while simultaneously allowing for repentance & faith.

This is what salvation looks like And that salvation belongs to God

It creates relational intimacy with each other — that’s marked by love. Paul says, “We’re thankful for you, we’re praying for you, we constantly remember you.” And — it’s all because of what God has done to radically transform them.

You can think about it like this, Reconciliation with God — is the only thing that allows for reconciliation with one another.

God moves on us as objects of renewal .That moves in us in power — as it changes us, Which shapes how we interact with other people.

And — that’s our 2nd point: 

2) We have been chosen by God as agents of gospel renewal

Look again at verses 5-7:  “You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.”

God’s work in us — isn’t really about us. It’s the way that He’s chosen to glorify His name in the world — THROUGH US.

Paul is reminding the Thessalonian believers that he, who was once far from God — lived out his gospel transformation among them. He was with them — and they were able to see the power of the gospel at work in Paul Which is what God used to bring the gospel to them — as Paul proclaimed the truth…

All of this means that we are called to IMITATE & MODEL.

 Remember the viral nature of the gospel?
God’s design is to work through the infectious nature of the gospel at work in us. We catch transformation from His work in others and we spread transformation as we model it for others.

And — let me point out 2 important things as it relates to this: 

This requires proximity. Notice the words “AMONG YOU”.

This only works if you’re in close proximity with people. The same way a virus will only spread if you’re with people.

The 2nd important thing to note here is that:  Imitating & Modeling happens best when we’re suffering for the gospel. You want to see what someone really believes — see what they do when they begin to face affliction.

** God glorifies Himself in a unique way through us — when He allows us the privilege of suffering for the gospel. This shouldn’t surprise us when we look at Jesus, The disciples, The early church, The historical church & the current persecuted church throughout the world.

** Peter — there Spirit rests upon you when you suffer.

So — get this We’re OBJECTS of gospel renewal as God moves in and changes us. That leads us to be AGENTS of renewal. Where God uses us to model the gospel to others.

3) We have been chosen by God as carriers of gospel proclamation to the whole world

Look again at verses 8-10:  “For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

The gospel will not let you sit still. It will necessarily propel you out into the world as an agent of renewal — a gospel proclaimer — wherever you go.

And — there’s nowhere you can’t go.

You and I — are carriers of the gospel — are charged with speaking the gospel into a culture that is riddled with IDOLATRY. I’m not just talking about outward — visible idolatry that we see so pervasively in India. I’m talking about the idolatry of the heart.

Idolatry is slavery. The gospel brings freedom!

Here’s the thing: The church becomes a viral movement — when you see the ruthless dethroning of idols in people’s lives. The gospel brings that freedom in our hearts and then we get the privilege of being able to speak that into the lives of other people

So, 

We have been chosen by God as objects of gospel renewal
We have been chosen by God as agents of gospel renewal &
We have been chosen by God as carriers of gospel proclamation to the whole world

This is the vision that we must have as the church if we’re going to be viral in how we live out the gospel.

Here’s the hard truth: 

The longer that someone is a Christian the greater the tendency to quarantine themselves to just hang out with other infected people.

We must push back against this,

++ Be reminded of the gospel at work in your life — God’s Sovereign rescue of you

++ Be reminded of your calling to live that out & proclaim it in the lives of people within the family of God

++ Be reminded of the calling on your life to take that gospel near & far

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1 Thessalonians Sermon

Faith Unpacked: 1 Thessalonians 1:1

Good morning church! I’m humbled & it’s a great pleasure for me to have the opportunity to preach the Word this morning. We just completed a topical series last week titled “The church”. And we get back to our book study as we begin 1 Thessalonians.

I think this is a continuation on the topic of “the church” because it talks about the “abiding” or the “continuing faith” of the church.  

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace. (v1)

“Christianity is at risk”! This was the title of a news report in a UK newspaper Daily Express in 2019. They saw a dramatic decline in the number of people that call themselves as Christians in Great Britain. From 66% in 1983 to 38% in 2019. And this is a similar declining trend that is seen all over Europe where thousands of churches have been closing due to lack of attendees (Wikipedia).

Even in a country like the US that has been the source of a lot of good resources and writings, they’ve seen 10-15% churches shut down. People are turning to atheism or modern spiritualism where they take what they like from each religion to create their own version of a religion that suits them. And in the face of these real facts, I’m sure the question that the church asks is: Is faith in Jesus temporary like a trend or can there be genuine, abiding faith? Will my faith last till the end? Not just me – but will the faith of my brothers and sisters in Christ abide and survive till the end?  The theme of the letter to the Thessalonians is like an answer given to us to help us navigate and find help to these critical questions.

3 points of observations:

1) Christian faith is validated by perseverance

When Paul starts out mentioning “the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” & as he continues throughout the letter – he actually remembers the context in which the church was formed.

In Acts 17, Paul arrives in the cosmopolitan, business capital city of Thessalonica (similar to a city like Mumbai). And he arrives to Thessalonica after being beaten & imprisoned in Philippi. One would think that Paul, Silas and Timothy would’ve been intimidated by that previous experience but they were instead fearless because they immediately go to a Jewish synagogue (sort of like a gospel community or a small group) over 3 Sabbath days & they have open discussions with the people gathered out there on what the Scriptures tell about the necessity for the Messiah to suffer & rise from the dead.

Paul tells them that Jesus whom He proclaims is the Christ! Some Jews believed, a lot of Greek worshippers believed & many prominent women also believed!

Isn’t this is awesome? To have new believers in this amazing, fast paced, influential city. They were at the tipping point of a vibrant church expansion movement. But unexpectedly even before Paul could make the most of this new discipling opportunity, some of the unbelieving Jews who were jealous got together some people who were experienced in stirring up riots and a crowd and started attacking the house of Jason (probably the church met at his house).

They couldn’t find Paul and his companions so they dragged Jason and some of the new believers in front of the city authorities & accused them of being international troublemakers & more severely saying there is another King called Jesus apart from Caesar!

The only way in which they released Jason and the others was with a money security – to guarantee that Paul wouldn’t cause any more disruptions by continuing to preach in that city. That same night Paul and his companions were sent away from the city. All of this all tells us that the Thessalonian church wasn’t born out of a marketing strategy or a pastor’s big vision. This church was born in the midst of humiliation, pain and suffering!

The fact that they were standing in the midst of severe suffering showed that their faith was genuine! I find that a stark contrast to how we evaluate the genuineness of our faith. We say our faith is genuine because we know all the worship songs at church, we are fairly regular at church, and also we have a good relationship with the pastor and other church members – so we assume that’s what certifies our faith.

Instead the bible tells us that “Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness”. (James 1:1)

Losing our job, sudden loss of a family member or a loved one, a broken relationship, an unexpected illness, long wait on God to answer a prayer for a good thing like a spouse for marriage or a job, taunts and insults being hurled at you because you’ve chosen to follow Jesus – these are all very real and painful.

But at the same time suffering exposes our heart idols. Those idols of inconvenience, comfort, self-love, self-reliance, pride, anger, impatience suddenly come to the fore when we are met with unexpected suffering. And it’s not as though someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus will not undergo suffering. But here’s the difference – Genuine Christian faith will be displayed through repentance & faith in God.

Even though there might be seasons when believers doubt, are confused and might even look to sin for comfort but true believers will eventually come back to God in repentance and faith. Why? Because they can’t abandon the Lord who gave them a new heart to love Him. They can’t abandon the Lord who has placed His Spirit within them. They will indeed return back to him.

Maybe some of us have been frustrated or discouraged by the season of suffering that you’re going through. If you’re in that place today, could you ask God to reveal those areas in your heart that need repentance & faith in God? Could you ask God to use your current situation to display His mercy? Genuine Christian faith is validated by perseverance.

2) Christian faith is personal & yet inter-connected

Our Christian faith is personal in the sense where God has a unique and direct relationship with every person who believes in Jesus. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12)

But at the same time Christian discipleship happens in community – with other brothers and sisters. Throughout the whole letter it’s filled with language that mentions the presence & necessity for deep relationships within the church.

You became imitators of us and the Lord (1 Thes 1:6)

But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. (1 Thes 2:7-8)

I remember a time during my first-year in college when this truth hit home for me. Now I had been a believer for about 2 years or so but Christian life for me was just Sunday. I was the most spiritual and most committed on a Sunday but the rest of the week I lived a double life – isolated from the rest of the church & world and joyless.

I assumed that was what Christian life was for most people. About that time, I was introduced to a brother who came to India on a two-week trip during his college break to share the good news about Jesus. I accompanied him throughout those two weeks, watching his life closely, paying attention to his words and I was amazed to see the joy & purpose with which he lived his life.

In every conversation I saw him have, he would somehow bring every conversation back to Jesus because it looked like he truly loved Jesus. For him time with the Word wasn’t a duty or a Sunday activity, he enjoyed reading the Bible and telling people about what he learnt. Plus, I was amazed to see a young college student come to India on a trip to tell people about Jesus during his summer break when he could’ve spent it with his friends.

Just imagine what this did to a young believer like me. This brother didn’t sit down and preach “discipleship” to me – but I saw him live it out during those 2 weeks. God used that brother to rejuvenate my relationship with God.

And I really want to challenge you brothers and sisters today. Maybe just like my experience, you see yourself as a Sunday Christian and desire to change. Let me encourage you to find a brother or sister in the Lord whom you know is living for Jesus & just go and spend time with them.

Observe how they are loving Jesus and allow them to speak into the insecurities & fears & doubts of your heart. That is God’s design for us to experience full joy. Christian faith is personal & yet inter-connected.

3)  Christian faith is based on God’s faithfulness

As we are reading through chapter 4 & 5 in 1 Thessalonians, if we read it without any context, we might be mistaken to think that it is simply a bunch of rules: abstain from sexual immorality, help the weak, admonish the idle, pray without ceasing.

We may assume that Paul is telling us that “Jesus has done half the work of saving you, now it’s up to you to perform and make sure that Christ receives you as perfect in the end”. Although we may say that we theologically don’t agree with that but practically we might believe it’s true.

What I mean is this – there is a reason why we feel super happy and assured on days when we read our bibles early in the morning, are able to have a productive day at work, manage to minimize our sinful behaviors & even share the gospel with one person.

At the same time, we struggle with immense guilt and condemnation on days when we aren’t able to do any of the above. On those days we don’t “feel” like God’s child. We instead “feel” like we are orphans.

If we are absolutely honest, all of us will confess that even on our best days – even our best efforts aren’t good enough before a Holy and Perfect God. There’s nothing we can do to make ourselves a loved child or an accepted child of God. So then what does that mean? Can our faith survive with this kind of failed record?

1 Thessalonians is a reminder for our hearts that when we fail – and fail we will, God still remains faithful. Even when we feel like we’ve let go, God continues to hold on those whom He has chosen. Think about it – Paul and his companions thought they lost these new believers.

They were anxious and thought that these believers may have gone astray in the midst of severe suffering and persecution. Instead when Timothy meets them, he is overjoyed to find them loving Jesus no matter what it may cost them. How come? The Lord Jesus remains faithful. He doesn’t let go.

No one can snatch them out of my hand – says Jesus in John 10:28

At the end of the letter in chapter 5 – Paul says some remarkable things – read with me in v23, 24:  Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Who sanctifies or makes us Holy? God does. Who will keep us – people who fail and sin blameless? He will. Because He who calls me is “FAITHFUL”. He will surely do it. Does this cause us to be lazy in our faith? No, in fact it makes us zealous to serve him because of His faithfulness.

For some of us who are feeling like they’re orphans this morning in spite of believing in Jesus, I believe we should be reminded that our faith, our identity, us being the child of God is not based on our performance.

It is based on God’s faithfulness – His faithful Son who lived a perfect life and died the death that we deserved so that through His resurrection our faith is firmly anchored in His faithfulness. For some others, it’s probably the first time where God has opened your eyes to His faithfulness.

Till now you’ve been living a life against God, apart from Him but today God’s moving your heart to trust Him. And God is true to His Word – if you believe in what Jesus has done for you, you will be saved. He will surely do it according to His promise.

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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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Genesis Sermon

Gospel Dependence – Genesis 15

As a church, we’ve been going through a series called “Gospel Renewal”. Our conviction is that unless the gospel changes our hearts, we will never be able to produce true and lasting fruit –be it in prayer, humility, repentance – all our efforts will render meaningless unless it’s fueled by the love of God. 

This week’s theme is “Gospel Dependence” or “Gospel trust”! What does it mean to depend on God? Can we trust God apart from the gospel? These are some of the questions we will look to answer as we look at Genesis 15.

The background of this story is that God has called a man called Abram out of his land, his extended family and commanded him to go to a place called Canaan and promised him that many nations would come through him, and all the families of the earth would be blessed through him and this place called Canaan would become an inheritance for him and his descendants! Wow.

That’s such a wonderful promise. However, there is one problem – he & his wife are well aged in years and they don’t have any children. Can this promise be fulfilled? Let’s read in Genesis 15. (read here)

Trust No one! That’s one recurring theme I’ve noticed people say a lot in this city. People find it hard to trust others.

Be it with the rickshaw driver, or vegetable vendor or anyone who provides some kind of service to you, or even the people who work with you – people don’t trust each other quickly and they always feel like that everyone’s out to cheat them.

Somehow I feel that this issue of trust also flows into our relationship with God. Often we ask “How can I trust God in my struggles, my pain and my circumstances? How do I know He is really concerned? How do I know that His plans are for my good?”

Even though we know these are easier topics to talk about on Sunday…deep down we know how we struggle to depend on God during the week. So what encouragement is offered to us from this passage?

I think it tells us of two things:

1.Gospel dependence is always rooted in God’s Word (v5-6)

5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

This passage starts off with God telling Abram that God is His shield and that His reward will be very great! This time Abram responds by telling God – sort of like complaining “God what will you give me, for I continue to be childless”.

What we need to understand is that in the ancient world barrenness was considered to be a curse or a punishment from God.  On top of that, there was the shame in society that families felt from others when they were barren.

You can imagine the emotional pressure that Abram felt at that point. And we can see at least 3 barriers that Abram had to overcome in order to depend on God:

  1. Physical barrier: Both he and Sarah were well advanced in their age. Probably around 80 at this point of time. We know how it’s physically impossible to give birth at such an old age.
  3. Rational barrier: Because they didn’t have any children, the only logical heir he could have is his servant Eliezer – probably a faithful servant in his household. In Abram’s mind he probably was thinking – if God wants to fulfill that promise of bringing out nations, it will now need to happen through Eliezer.
  4. Time barrier: Already enough and more time has passed. He was growing impatient probably saying “how long, Lord”? “God, please answer now….I’ve waited for a long time”.

If Abram considered all of these barriers, it would’ve made it really difficult for him to trust and depend on God. But what does God do? God tells him that Eliezer won’t be the heir…his own offspring would the heir.

God brings him outside and shows him the stars in the sky and asks them if he’s able to count them. And God says that many descendants will come from him. And then in v6 it says “Abram believed the Lord”. What? That’s it? God said this and Abram believed? How?

Because it was not an ordinary person’s word but God’s Word! It wasn’t just someone’s optimistic encouragement but God’s Word.

  1. He had to trust in the truthfulness of God’s Word – God who never lies (Titus 1:2)
  2. He had to trust in the ability of God to do what He said –

He believed God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.  (Rom 4:17)

20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”  (Rom 4:20-22)

God’s Word is synonymous with His character. God’s Word is a means of grace given to us so that we can trust God. (Faith comes by hearing, hearing the word of God [Rom 10:17])

In all this what I’m trying to say is that the word of God is so very essential for us to depend on God. You cannot depend on God apart from God’s Word. Why? Because God’s Word reveals God’s truthfulness and His ability to do what He has promised.

Sometimes when we are struggling with habitual sin, or when we’ve been praying to God for a specific issue – it could be physical healing or godly spouse or a job and haven’t received an answer yet – because I know my own heart I know others can have the same tendency – we tend to go into a shell and stay away from God’s Word.

We want to stay away from reading the Bible. We want to stay away from the church. We want to stay away from the preaching of God’s Word. We just want our space.

And even though all our feelings tell us that’s what we need to do, I just want to encourage you all and remind you that what you need the most is God’s Word. You need to know that God is truthful and that He doesn’t lie.

You need to know that God is more powerful than the circumstance or the sin that you’re going through. 

  • Gospel Dependence is held by God’s faithfulness (v18-21)

It’s not enough to know that God’s Word is true and that He is able to do what He said, but also to know that He is faithful no matter what. 

Right after Abram believes the Lord’s Word, God tells him that the land of Canaan will be given to Abram to possess. Abram asks God “how can he know that he’ll possess it”?

God tells him to get some animals and cut them in half and some birds. Abram did that and then fell into a deep sleep where he sees a vision. In that vision, God tells him that his descendants would be slaves in a foreign country for 400 years and after that God will bring them back to this Promise Land.

And God sends down fire and that passes between the animal pieces symbolizing His covenant with Abram.

What’s important to know is God is absolutely serious about keeping His commitment. God didn’t say – “okay, it’s going to take 400 years…Abram won’t be alive until then so it doesn’t matter”.

Neither did God think “the Israelites in 400 years are going to be extremely rebellious and sinful, they don’t deserve my commitment”. In fact, this was an unconditional covenant with Abram.

God made this covenant and He did it by passing through the pieces which meant that if God didn’t keep His commitment, then what happened to the cut animals will happen to Him! Wow! Our faith is held by God’s faithfulness.

God’s faithfulness was perfectly displayed on the cross. The willingness of our loving Savior Jesus to take on the punishment for our sins and absorb the wrath of God on our behalf – and go through with it is mind-blowing!

Because that was the only way we could have a relationship with God. He didn’t bail on us and neither did He leave us to die. He came after us even if it costed Him His life. Our faith is held by God’s faithfulness.

When we waver in our dependence on God when we fail in our personal holiness – what’s our hope? Is it to do better next time? Is it to manufacture new faith?

No! It’s God’s faithfulness toward us. I’m not saying that God’s faithfulness should be used as an excuse for sin. But I’m saying if you’ve truly understood God’s faithfulness, that will cause you to turn away from sin and turn towards God.

I remember brother Saju once shared a story with me about a pastor of a church. This pastor had a wayward daughter and even though he was a pastor of the church for many years, he thought it was proper for him to step down from his role for some time and focus on his family.

Every night his daughter would come back late after parties, and this pastor would wait up for her – look at her and say that he loves her. Every night. Finally one day this daughter repented and came to know the Lord.

And in her testimony, she said that it was actually the faithfulness of her father despite all the things she did wrong that helped her understand the gospel and come to know Christ.

When I fail in my faith, I need to know that God’s faithfulness holds me. I need to know 1 John 1:9 – if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us from all unrighteousness. I need to know that God’s faithfulness will come through for me.

Lastly, I just want to mention one thing before we close – if today a prosperity preacher would preach this passage, he would say that God’s faithfulness means giving me everything that I want.

If you don’t have everything you want in health and wealth – then you probably don’t have enough faith yet. We know that’s not the teaching of Scripture but how are we to respond to God biblically on issues that we’ve been praying for a long period of time?

Yes, we persistently pray about this and come back to God again and again. We tell God how what we’re asking isn’t coming from selfish motives to spend on ourselves. But then we also surrender the answer and trust that if God by withholding this answer from us it bring Him more glory, then we want to submit to His will.

Because our lives are about Him and His glory and not ours. God can use our strength and our weakness. God can use our plenty and our lack. And that’s also gospel dependence – trusting God to do what is best for His glory!

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1 John Sermon

Gospel Repentance – 1 John 1:5-10

Today’s sermon is part of a series called ‘Gospel Renewal’. Last two Sundays we covered topics on Prayer & Humility. And today we’re going to talk about Repentance.

Through these sermon series, I believe we are discovering how to consistently live all of life under the influence of the gospel. And as we do that one of our greatest needs in gospel-centered living is to understand repentance accurately and biblically.

Firstly, I want to begin by defining the word Repentance, because it seems many of us have a different understanding of the word.

The word Repentance in Greek is the word ‘metanoia’, and ‘metanoia’ essentially means ‘change in mind’.

The full biblical definition of repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action.

It’s like leaving your home to go to the market, instead on the way, you change your mind and decide to walk towards the mall.

It is impossible to truly change your mind without that causing a change in action.

That is why John the Baptist called people to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8).

A person who has truly repented of his sin and exercised faith in Christ will give evidence of a changed life .

The passage I want us all to look at today is 1 John 1:5-10

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

First of all, remember, John is writing this letter to the believers in Ephesus. What John is saying is that when you talk about having fellowship with God & practicing the truth, you need a ‘change of mind’. You need to Repent.

Here’s what he is saying…

If we say we have fellowship with God while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

As we hear these words of John, and think about the application in our lives, let me give you a mental image of where our Christian is with regards to this particular situation that John is talking about.

When we were born in this world, we were born sinful and wicked. And no matter how cute and pretty the new born babies look, the truth is, their heart is disconnected from God.

The reason we are born sinful is because as humans, when we were first created by God in His image to worship Him – We were given the freedom to choose the right thing, we misused our freedom and willfully chose what was against God.

Our disobedience not only disconnected us from having a healthy relationship with God, but it also invited his wrath and anger. And since we were all born out of the first humans Adam and Eve, we all inherit their sinful nature, and a broken relationship with our creator God & are worthy of his wrath and anger.

Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death – which is what we deserved

John 3:16 – But God so loved the us that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 3:24 – all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:24 – but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus came to earth and lived the perfect life in our place, took the penalty of our sins and paid the price on the cross, and in return gave his righteousness to us.

He took our dirty unrighteous garments and gave us his righteous garments.

Now when God looks at us, he is looking through the filter of His son, claims us back from the world, embraces us and calls us his own.

Brother & sisters, when we are confronted with this truth, there is a transformation that happens in our heart. For the first time we truly repent of our sins, believe in the gospel & eventually make a public declaration of our faith through Baptism.

Do not be mistaken – When this happens, God forgives all our past, present & future sins. We stand justified before him forever.

He says nothing can separate us from his love – neither physical death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, [39] Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39

But, a lot of people think that we only repent of our sins & believe in the gospel once for all and there is no need to repent & believe again and again.

People who think that way forget that even thought our soul is set free from eternal condemnation, we still continue to live in our flesh and in this corrupt world. Our bodies are trapped here until we die or until Jesus returns.

We also forget that as we continue to grow in our faith, there are two things happens in our heart & mind. We grow in the awareness of God’s holiness and we grow in the awareness of our sinfulness.

And if we don’t walk in daily repentance, we can go into two different directions. Let me explain.

When we focus only on the Holiness of God, we easily get into a performance mode. And when we only grow in realization of our sinfulness, we get into a pretending mode. And both these places are harmful for us.

They stop us from experiencing a spirit filled Christian life.

In our passage today, John is talking to believers who are bent towards the pretending mode. People who are pretending to have fellowship with God and walking in the light but are in darkness and unwilling to admit that they are drowning in sin.

Listen carefully as I read the passage again.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

And here’s the solutions John offers

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

To bridge the gap between God’s holiness and Our sinfulness, the only way we can do it is when we live a lifestyle of repentance by confessing our sins to God & believing in the Gospel.

Here’s what happens when we do that daily. We grow in appreciation of what Christ has done for us on the cross. Our heart grows bigger and bigger each day.

God performs chemotherapy on us, killing the bad cells of our sinful nature and producing new ones. Changing our stony heart into a heart of flesh.

Biblical repentance frees us from our own devices and makes a way for the power of the gospel to bear fruit in our lives.

We never stop needing to repent and believe.

And as we do that, there are two reasons they happen. The first is, we express the genuineness of their faith. The second reason is, we maintain a close relationship with the Father in heaven.

Amen

Finally, as I close, let me highlight three things about repentance one gain.

  1. As Christians, we don’t repent daily because we fall off and become unbeliever again as we sin. The first time when we truly repented of our sins, he fully accepted and has given the entry pass to his Kingdom.
  2. As Christians, we repent so that we daily grow in appreciation of what Christ has done for us on the cross.
  3. We repent and confess our sins because we have the confidence that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Categories
Mark Sermon

I Am – Mark 14:53-65

Good morning Gathering. It’s great to be with you this morning and privilege to open the Word of God together. I hated to be out the last couple of weeks, but I had the opportunity to preach at two other churches in the city. And that’s something that we definitely value, because we’re for the gospel in our city! We want to see a whole host of Bible-believing, gospel-centered, God-glorifying churches throughout Mumbai. So, while I certainly don’t like to miss out on our time here at the Gathering, it was great to serve a couple of other churches in our area.

But, it’s good to be back and I’m excited to jump back into The Gospel of Mark with you. If you have a Bible with you this morning, I’d invite you to turn there with me to Mark chapter 14. It’s hard to believe that, after so many months in Mark, we have nearly arrived at the crucifixion.

Jesus and His disciples have just observed the Passover meal. It’s this beautiful time where Jesus reorients the Passover around Himself. He essentially put Himself as the object of the Passover and, in doing so, He instituted the Lord’s Supper (which we’ll observe at the end of our time together this morning).

And the instruction that Jesus gives during that meal (and as He washes the disciples feet) is incredible. You need to look at the other gospels to get the fuller context of what Jesus taught during that time (John’s gospel is particularly helpful on this)…

It’s really during the last supper that we see this shift toward the abandonment of Jesus by His followers. He reveals that one of the disciples will betray Him and that’s exactly what happens. Judas goes and gets the soldiers and brings them to Jesus. He reveals that Peter will deny Him. And, as you know, that’s exactly what happens. === === We’ll see next weekend Peter deny Jesus 3 times when he’s faced with questions about their relationship. And all of the other disciples fled & abandoned Jesus after His arrest in the Garden. You could say that the theme of chapter 14 in Mark, particularly the last 1/2 of the chapter, is abandonment. And this is where we come to our text for this morning; verses 53-65. This is after Jesus is arrested in the middle of the night. Mark gives us a picture of Jesus standing before the Jewish ruling council. I’ll read this for us and then we’ll go to the Lord in prayer and ask for His help in understanding what we’ve read.

“And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.'” Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.” (Mark 14:53-65)

Here’s how I’d like to handle this. I’m going to take some time and break down what’s actually happening here. We’ll talk about some of the details of the trial and what’s underlying those details with the goal of arriving at God’s purpose for all of this. But, before we get to those details, I want to frame the conversation for us in light of how Mark has been leading us through the entire book. You might remember, back in chapter 8, we identified the turning point in the Gospel of Mark.

Do you remember when all of the people were trying to figure out who Jesus is. Some of them are thinking He’s John the Baptist. Some think that He’s Elijah or one of the other prophets. And then Jesus looks at His disciples and asks a question. And, it’s not just “a question,” it’s really “THE QUESTION” because it’s the question that is posed to every one of us as well. In fact, you might write this question down because we’re going to come back to it at the end of our time. Anyone remember the question? “WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?”

What we said when we preached that text is that this is where things begin to change in Mark’s gospel. Things begin to pick up speed. They begin moving toward one climactic point, sort of like you’ve just begun accelerating toward the peak of a mountain.

This interaction with the High Priest and the Jewish Council is that climactic point. Where Ciaphas asks Jesus directly, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” We need to remember that, up until this point Jesus has been silent. He’s concealed who He really is because His time had not yet come (we hear that phrase repeated throughout the 4 gospels: “My time has not yet come.”).

And so, Jesus mostly kept His identity veiled. It was only to His disciples that He revealed who He truly was, and they didn’t really even understand what He was talking about. Yes, Peter gave the right answer when Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am?” Peter said, “You are the Christ!” But, even then, Jesus said, “That answer didn’t come from you Peter, but from the Father in Heaven.” And we know that Peter didn’t get it because, immediately after that, Peter tried to rebuke Jesus and Jesus called Him Satan (which is less than awesome if you’re Peter). And then, of course, we have Peter’s denial of Jesus which (as I said) we’ll look at next weekend.

All of that to say that the disciples didn’t really even understand it. Jesus was hidden. He was concealed. His glory was veiled up to this point. Even in the way He taught people, with parables, Jesus said that was so the people didn’t really understand what He was talking about. And so, Jesus has remained silent.

Even through His betrayal, through His arrest, through all of these false accusations, Jesus has said nothing up until this point. That shouldn’t surprise us because of Isaiah 53:7: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”

He was arrested & oppressed; He spoke not. He was afflicted & accused; He gave no defense. But all of that changes in verse 62. Jesus is asked if He is the Christ (meaning the Messiah) & the Son of the Blessed (which is how they would have referred to God, out of respect).

So, “Are you the Messiah? Are you the Son of God?” And here we have it! This is it! This is the moment that God pre-determined before the foundation of the world where He would reveal who Jesus really is. And, Jesus doesn’t just give AN answer to the High Priest’s question, He gives THE ANSWER. Just like, “Who do you say that I am” isn’t A question, it’s THE question. Jesus gives THE ANSWER in this text. He says, “I AM!”

Now, I wanted to highlight that before we even start breaking down what’s happening in the text because we have such a strong tendency to miss the main thing. Just like the religious leaders missed it. Just like the disciples didn’t see it clearly. We have a tendency to miss things, especially in a text that we’re so familiar with like this one. But, this is too important for us to miss. This isn’t just the key moment in the Gospel of Mark. This represents the key moment in each one of our lives as well. Here it is:  “WHO DO YOU SAY JESUS IS?” That’s our main idea this morning:  “WHO DO YOU SAY JESUS IS?”

Everything in your life is driving you toward that question, and nothing even comes close to how important that question is for you. Not your family. Not your job. Not a relationship. Not money. Not circumstantial happiness. Not all of those things combined. Everything else pales in comparison! When you consider the scope of eternity and the reality of eternal union with God in heaven, or eternal separation from God in hell.

And, when you consider the fact that your eternal destination is determined by this question in your heart:  “WHO DO YOU SAY JESUS IS?” Everything else pales in comparison to the importance of that question. So, as we go through this text, I want for that question to be right on the forefront of your heart. As we look at Jesus here, as we think about what’s happening, I want you to be asking yourself, “Who Do I Say Jesus Is?”

Now, let’s back up and work our way through this with hearts that are expectant to see Jesus for who He reveals Himself to be. And, maybe we could just start by breaking down the details of what’s actually happening. First, there are some things that we need to understand about this trial itself; starting with the fact that this wasn’t even a trial. It was illegal, based on Jewish law in a whole bunch of ways.

— It took place at the High Priest’s home, not in a public space.
— Judas was bribed in his betrayal of Jesus.
— Witnesses were paid to give their testimony.
— Those witness lied.
— It was illegal to have a trial at night.
— It was illegal to pass a verdict at night.
— It was illegal to hold a trial on a holiday (including the day before and day after).
— It was illegal to pursue a death sentence before a crime was established.

Let’s be clear, This wasn’t a trial! In fact, we know exactly what this was because Mark tells us exactly what this in chapter 14, verse 2. “The Chief Priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him…” The purpose of the Jewish council wasn’t to determine guilt or innocence here.

The purpose was to get rid of Him by having the Romans put Him to death. That’s what they wanted. They wanted to kill Him, And, because they had already determined the end, they justified whatever means they thought were necessary to arrive at that end. Bribery, lying, illegal procedure, breaking all kinds of other laws. None of it mattered to them because they had determined that they were right, and so they justified their actions. That’s what’s actually happening here.

Now, let me pause for just a moment and make a couple of observations (points of application) that I think we have to consider for our own lives. I want to be clear; these aren’t the main point that I’m driving at. The main point is Jesus looking at you and asking, “Who do you say I am?” But, there are definitely some things that we can learn here that are really important for our lives. Let me give you 3 things that I think we need to understand.

1st — The end never justifies the means, if the means violate God’s written or moral law. Let’s be honest, we are sinful & full of pride. We have a lot of blind spots, especially when it comes to our idolatry. And, if you think you don’t have blind spots, then you probably have more than the person sitting next to you. We are blind to our blindness.

And, because of that, it is not uncommon for us to believe that we’re right and begin justifying decisions & behaviors that are clearly outside of what God has communicated in Scripture. That’s what these religious leaders did. They were convinced they were right about Jesus and so they justified all kinds of things that were clearly wrong.

But, here’s the problem:  THEY WERE WRONG ABOUT JESUS. And, the fact that they were doing all kinds of wrongs things in order to condemn Him should have been a clue that they were wrong.

We need to be very careful with this same kind of pride in our lives. Where we’ve convinced ourselves that we’re right about something, and so we’re doing things that are compromising what God has called us to in Scripture. And it’s all just an effort to accomplish the end that we’ve determined needs to be accomplished. We have to be very careful with that because: A) You could be wrong. And B) If you’re doing things outside of what God has clearly communicated in Scripture, you’re definitely wrong. That’s the first thing.

The 2nd — Righteousness always operates in the light. Wickedness always operates in the darkness. The reason the the Council was doing all of this shrouded in darkness; in the middle of the night; when everyone was asleep; trying to get this thing wrapped up before daybreak, is because it was wicked. If this was the right thing, why not have a public trial? Why not bring charges and allow for other witnesses to be brought? Why do everything so quickly and under the cover of darkness? Because it was evil!

We must understand that this is how the enemy operates. And, by the enemy, I primarily mean our flesh. The enemy always wants to operate in darkness & isolation. When we think about our lives (our attitudes; our actions; our words; our interactions with other people), we should always be aware of whether we’re operating in the light or in the dark.

Are we open with people or are we trying to conceal things? Are we subjecting that issue or pattern of behavior to a biblical community, or are we isolating from community? Those are great evaluative questions that will help you diagnose if you’re operating in a way that honors God and most glorifies Him.

3rd — (and this is probably the most important) — God is sovereign over everything, including our sin, and will accomplish His purposes. I want to be abundantly clear on this: God purposed all of this before the foundation of the world.

This is happening completely under the umbrella of providence & His sovereign control. There are no accidents in God’s economy because He is all sovereign, all knowing and all powerful. That’s the pattern that see over & over again throughout Scripture. Where God is sovereignly orchestrating circumstances in a way that accomplishes His purposes, brings Him glory and also in a way that work for our ultimate good.

So, here we are. At a trial, that really isn’t a trial. In the dark. Jesus has been abandoned by those closest to Him. This council has already pronounced judgement on Him. They’re just waiting for that one “gotcha” moment that will seal the deal and allow them to hand Him over to the Romans. And, because He purposed to do it from before the beginning of the Universe, Jesus gives them that “gotcha” moment.

“You’re saying that you’re the Christ? You’re saying you’re the Messiah, the Son of God? Is that who you are?” Jesus looks at them and says, “I AM! And you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

And there it was. That’s what they were looking for. It’s funny because all of this other stuff about tearing down the Temple, and building it back up, and all of the false witnesses that couldn’t agree with each other. They should have just led with this question because Jesus’ time had come.

Let’s break down this answer quickly, and then we’ll get back around to our main idea. First, there’s so much in that phrase, “I AM.” Jesus says, “I am:

— the one your fathers have been waiting for
— the one to bring about God’s Kingdom
— the one that God promised to Abraham
— the one He promised to Moses
— the son of David promised to your ancestors
— the one who was promised to Malachi and the rest of the prophets
— the one who was promised in the garden to crush the serpent
— the fulfillment of all the law & the prophets
— the one who has come to take the sins of the whole world upon my body— the way, the truth & the life… and the only way to be reconciled to God
— YES!!! I AM!”

We could actually spend another couple of hours talking about everything that is wrapped up in that phrase “I AM.” Needless to say, Jesus’ answer carries a lot of weight. But notice that that’s not all He says. He says, “And you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” He’s referring to a couple of messianic prophecies in the Old Testament; one in Psalm 110 and one in Daniel 7.

Psalm 110:1 — “The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

Psalm 110:5 — “The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.”

Jesus isn’t just saying, “this is who I am”, He’s pointing specifically to Himself as the fulfillment of prophecies about the coming Messiah.

Daniel 7:13-14 — “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

Jesus is cementing His answer of “I AM” by linking it to the Old Testament prophesies about the Messiah. He is declaring that He will be vindicated in His resurrection and ascension, as the Son of Man. And that’s why, in verse 64, they charge Jesus with blasphemy. It’s because He’s claiming to be God. These religious leaders knew exactly what it meant when Jesus said, “I AM” and then quoted those two texts.

And so, they condemn Him because they didn’t see Him for who He truly is. And, this is where we come back full circle. This is the question for us this morning:  Do you see Jesus for who He is, and have you submitted your whole life to Him?

This is not a matter of intellectualism. I’m not asking you to agree with who Jesus says He is. Satan and the demons are far better theologians than we will ever be. They know exactly who Jesus is. I am talking about whole life submission to Jesus as your Lord.

If you are here this morning and you are not a Christian, please understand this. We will all see the Son of Man, seated at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of Heaven. The manner in which we see this will be determined by the question, “Who do you say I am?” This determines whether we see Him under the wrath of God, or under the righteousness of Christ.

If you are here this morning and you are a Christian, please consider this. Are there areas of your life that you’re holding back and not submitting them to His rule & reign? Are there areas where you’ve determined you’re right about and so, you’re blind to the fact that you’ve put that thing above God in your heart?

Categories
1 Peter Sermon

God’s Glory In Suffering

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Categories
1 Peter Sermon

Why Church?

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

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

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

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

Some of you may be finding all this overwhelming?

And the questions you are asking are ….

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Right picture of the Church

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now, coming back to our question

Why Church? or

What is the purpose of the Church? or

What role does the church play in our individual lives?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

Categories
John Sermon

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

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

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

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

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

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

Christ is the true God

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

a.His Pre-existence

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

b.His personal relationship within the Trinity

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

c.His Divinity

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

d.His active role in Creation

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

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

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

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

Christ is the true Light

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

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

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

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

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

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

b.Our love for darkness (v10-11)

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

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

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

c.Our provision through Christ (v12-13)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Christ is the true Revelation

a.He is God incarnate (v14a)

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us

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

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

b.He fully reveals God to us (v16)

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

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

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

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