This sermon is part of a series called
Faith in Action as we are going through the Letter of James.
James wrote this letter to the exiled Jews
who are scattered. James is writing out of concern for their spiritual
well-being, and the letter is a set of practical instruction on how to live out
their faith amid trial, sufferings and uncertainties.
Last sermon we saw James giving instructions on how not to deceive themselves by becoming only hearers and not doers. In today’s passage, he is helping them understand the difference between true and false religion.
In verse 26 he writes “If anyone
thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart,
this person’s religion is worthless.”
You may ask why James is talking about the
speech as he is referring to the tongue. To know this, we have to understand
the context in which James has been brought up and is living.
James lived in a religious culture,
predominantly a Jewish culture which was primarily headed by the Pharisees and
the Sadducees. And even though some of them may have been genuine, they were
mostly known to be as cold, legalistic, prideful, arrogant and talkative.
They were just like our politicians, who
make big promises before the elections but after the election fail to keep the
promises. Politicians generally are also known as people who are good at
talking, but when it came to acting upon real issues that people go through,
they shut themselves up.
Therefore when Jesus was on earth, he was
very hard on these people and even called out their sin in public. You can
imagine the influence of these people when you hear how they treated Jesus and
put him to death by badly influencing the Roman government at that time.
Here, in our passage, James writing to a
group of people who seem to have been influenced by such a religious culture
and therefore now acting like them. Basically all TALKS and no ACTION.
And, therefore, in verse 26, he is writing
to them that if you think by talking only that you become religious and that
God is ok with that, then you are mistaken. He says, this kind of religion is
worthless.
Brothers & sisters, at this point it’s easy for us to think about this group and condemn them for their attitude and action, and completely ignore that fact that we too behave in a similar manner, and sometimes even worse.
We too behave cold, legalistic, prideful –
performing Godly activities as a sense of duty to show ourselves good
externally – showing people how good of a Christian we are using words only,
minus the action.
James goes on to explain what true religion
should look like. He says in verse 27, true religion is that which shows
genuine care and concern for the people and a life that is not stained by the
cultures of the world.
In James’s times, the orphan and the widows
were the most needy ones and therefore he is mentioning them to make a point.
It doesnt mean that we now make add charity towards orphan and widows by
donating some money and doing some Christian activities around them to make
ourselves feel better and more religious.
We must catch the heart of what James is
telling us. The needy in our context could be different. In fact, in the city
of Mumbai, we can find all kinds of needy people with various types of need.
And apart for just the necessities, what they also need the most is the Gospel.
Therefore tur religion is more than just
giving big talks about what is right and wrong, holy and unholy, right and wrong. True religion is that which
even compels us to do something about it in actual action.
And true religion is one that is unstained
by the worldly patters and traditions and way of life. Its the one that truly
seeks God and His Kingdom.
Brothers & sisters, here’s the truth. In our natural being, we can never live out such a perfect life on own, our natural tendencies will always yield us to become people who talk and do nothing. Why? Because we have a problem.
The day we were created by our heavenly
Father, he didn’t mean for us to become like this. He wanted us to look perfect
in all ways, holy just as He is Holy, but in the Garden of Eden we messed it
up.
We used our gift of free will, and instead
of walking in obedience to God, we rebelled and sinned, and the result was
separation from God. And because of that separation, we all are broken inside.
The reason we all behave in selfish ways is that Sin has corrupted us, and even
though our hearts desire to live to please God in all manners, our flesh pulls
us away from seeking a Godly life.
And the only way to fix this problem is to
repent of sins and trust on the Son of God who is the only one who didn’t just
talk and make big promises in the air but fulfilled each of His promises to
save us from our wretchedness and restore that broken relationship with God the
Father.
Christ left His heavenly Glory to reach out
to needy people like us, people who needed hope, peace, joy – which only a
restored relationship with the Father can grant us.
Jesus lived the perfect life, exercised true religion, one that was acceptable to God and earned His righteousness for our sake and then exchanged it with our unrighteous and sinful lives, taking the penalty of our sin upon himself and in giving us total freedom from Sin and captivating our hearts with His Love and compelling us to know to live a godly life by the help and power of His Spirit in us.
Therefore, our response today towards this
passage is primarily to look to Jesus and His saving grace – captivated by His
Love, affections and forgiveness He grants us. And we do that; His love will
compel us to people who are not just talkers but doers of His words, living a
Godly life that is truly acceptable to God.
As a child of God, the question we need to
ask daily is not how good a Christian I be, but how good a Jesus lover I am.
Because loving Jesus day-by-day will automatically produce the fruits of true
religion in us. We won’t have to strive to look like a good Christian, Christ’s
Love will automatically compel us to show genuine care for the needy and will
also protect our hearts from becoming stained by the world.
As some of you know I was made redundant and have been unemployed since July, I am writing this post to encourage you and especially myself while we are in this journey of transition together.
I am thankful to God for His presence each day. His grace and fellowship every hour. There are times I would feel lost but the Holy Spirit through His word would remind me that He is my Provider and Sustainer and it’s not a man or a company- these are means and not an end.
Truly thankful for such a wonderful God who understands the depths of my thoughts, fears and worries and addresses them gently as a Father and secures my weak heart.
He truly withheld no good thing from me. The reality is there are expenses each month. I am thankful for friends who have been there for me in this phase of my life and extended help and support in every way God enabled them to.
Some ordered groceries, some helped financially without me reaching out to them, some sent job references, some checked on my emotional health, some prayed and some even cried with me. It’s overwhelming how God moves people with compassion to understand the needs.
So if you’re reading this I want to encourage you. As my friend Kimaya encouraged me. She was watching a movie- Noahand God told one of Noah’s son in the movie- You have EVERYTHING you need in this time.
Yes and this is true. I am thankful first and foremost because the presence and love of a Holy God is my portion. 36 years of my life He has sustained me and never failed once. Even in hardships and pain He never left.
Secondly in this time, I experience His love and goodness through the friends and family.
I want to remind you and encourage you with the truth that you have everything you need- God and His people around you.
He is using the stillness, the hardship, the brokenness, every single detail of your life to behold His goodness and to mould our hearts to the likeness of Christ to respond with compassion to suffering.
So I pray with Thanksgiving for all of us – Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for your steady love and faithfulness through every trial and temptation.
Thank you that You never leave us nor forsake us. Thank you for sustaining us and carrying us through every hardship. Thank you for your presence Holy Spirit. You’re sufficient at all times.
Thank you for your people who comfort when in distress. I know God You’re a provider and withhold no good thing You gave Jesus Christ the best gift ever, so I know You will take care of every need beyond what we can ask or think for Your Glory!
My name is Jinson Thomas and I am one of the pastors at the Gathering Community Church. I’m humbled at the opportunity to share God’s Word with you all on this Good Friday.
One of the questions that many people including Christians are quite perplexed with is the question
“Why is it called Good Friday?”
How can it possibly be good if Jesus was murdered on this day? “It’s not good but bad Friday” some would say.
On top of that, some of you would say – how can this be Good Friday with all that is happening around the globe due to COVID-19?
How can it be Good Friday when I’m locked up at home? So this evening I’d like to give us 3 reasons for why Good Friday can be good for us!!
1. God’s forgiveness is available for all sins (v34)
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know
not what they do.”
What is astonishing is that Jesus is pleading before
the Father for people who were responsible for putting Him on a cross!! And I
think sometimes we are so used to seeing a cross on a church building or
sporting it as a fashion accessory, that we forget what it meant in Jesus’ time
to be crucified.
The cross wasn’t used to symbolize a religion or a fashion statement but instead, the cross symbolized condemnation and humiliation! It was a death row for the worst criminals who committed the most heinous crimes in the Roman world.
It was also done publicly to make an example of the criminal so that no one would even think of following the footsteps of the one who was killed. In fact it was so cruel and inhumane that even Roman speakers of the time would criticize it by calling it “the most cruel and disgusting punishment”.
The Son of God (Jesus) who committed no sin faced the horror of “the most cruel and disgusting punishment”.
Forgiveness isn’t cheap. It comes at a high cost.
Just to give you a picture of the pain that Jesus
endured:
i) It involved immense Physical Pain: The pain was so unbearable, intense and agonizing that they made a word to describe it – “excruciating”. It wasn’t instant death but slow & painful death!
Victims would have to endure extreme pain for long periods of time before they eventually suffocated and died. We can never downplay or minimize the physical pain that Jesus experienced on the cross.
ii) Not only did it involve Physical pain but also Psychological Pain: That’s the last thing that you would want to face while already dealing with the immense physical pain.
The only voice that Jesus heard all around him were insults from the very people He came to save. V34 says that they cast lots to divide his garments which tells us how his garments were stripped off him making him vulnerable & adding to his humiliation.
iii) However, more than the Physical & Psychological Pain – what affected Jesus the most was the Spiritual Pain: AlthoughJesus was like us in every way, yet He was unlike us because he was without sin.
He was the only person to live a life of perfect purity and sinlessness. But on the cross for the first time, he experienced the massive weight & guilt of sin. “He who knew no sin became sin for us (2 Cor 5:21)”.
Not only did He experience the massive weight of sin but He was also being punished for our sins. No one like to be a scape goat for anyone and here we see Jesus becoming the scape goat for the entire world.
The passage from Isaiah that we just read earlier
today is a reminder of the same thing:
Isa 53:5,6 – But he was pierced for our
transgressions;
he was
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that brought us peace,
and with his
wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have
turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity
of us all.
I want us to understand that Jesus wasn’t treated as a criminal merely due to wicked Jewish leaders and Roman soldiers of that time. He was treated as a criminal because you and I have committed numerous crimes against the One True God.
We are the very ones responsible for putting Jesus on the cross. Brothers and sisters, my intention is not to guilt us or over-emphasize on the gory details of Jesus’ agony and suffering but I want us to realize this truth that
Forgiveness isn’t cheap. It comes at a high cost.
God absolutely has the authority to forgive sins but
because He is also a just judge, a payment has to be made. Someone has to pay.
I came across a beautiful story that spoke about forgiveness and justice being displayed in the courtrooms in UAE a few months back. An Asian couple found themselves in the middle of a huge legal problem because they overstayed their visa for a number of years.
They were asked to pay an enormous amount as a fine (around 12 Lakh rupees). When the judge asked them to pay the fine, they weren’t able to pay it. Now even though the judge had compassion on the family, he couldn’t write off the fine because it would cause an uproar and protest against the whole justice system of the UAE.
For some reason, the judge asked them the name of their son. The parents replied that they’ve named him “Zayed”. Now Zayed also happened to be the name of the founder of the country. On learning this, the judge said Zayed shouldn’t have to pay the fine. But justice requires someone to pay. To everyone’s amazement the judge himself paid off the entire amount (12 Lakh rupees) to close their case. Forgiveness isn’t cheap. It comes at a high cost.
When God saw that we weren’t able to pay the enormous
mountain of a debt due to our sins, He provided a way for us to be forgiven
through the perfect sacrifice of His Son Jesus so that the payment is made for
people who cannot pay for themselves.
Maybe some of us as we are hearing this are finding it hard to believe. You’ll say “brother, I know what you’re saying but you have no idea what I’ve said and done in the past few weeks. You have no idea how ugly my past is. I’ve done so many things that I’m ashamed to even talk about”.
The amazing truth is that because of what Jesus Christ has done on the cross, if you come to Him and surrender yourself to Him because of His perfect sacrifice, forgiveness is available for all your sins no matter how many they are & how worse they are.
That’s amazing news for us even in a time of lockdown and uncertainty – to know that irrespective of what happens tomorrow that God can forgive all my sins. He can look at me and say “You are not guilty”. That’s great news.
But not only is Good Friday good because God’s is able to forgive all my sins but also that :
2. God’s grace is extended to the lost, the last and
the least (v43)
And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Within the event of Jesus suffering on the cross, there is a mention of a small incident of two criminals who are hung on either side of Jesus. One of them dishonours Jesus just like the crowd beneath, but the other one honours Jesus as King.
The first one doesn’t even acknowledge his sin while the other one confesses his sin – he acknowledges “we are receiving the due reward of our deeds”. The first one didn’t have any hope of being saved, while the other one even at the last moments of his life trusted that Jesus could save Him.
And Jesus does save him in v43 – “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Wait a minute! First of all, this is a guilty criminal out here. He’s done some really bad things and messed up his life. Upon his own admission, he knows that he deserves the punishment he is receiving.
And plus he lived his whole life in wickedness and now at the final moments of life, he is asking Jesus to save him? I mean there are the other “not so bad” people that need to be saved first, right? This guy is the least likeable guy. He is the back-bencher in morality.
No one expects him to be saved. Why fill up God’s kingdom with people who don’t appear to be cut out for it? Why should Jesus even bother?
In our judgmental hearts, this is a crazy thing to digest mainly because we don’t understand God’s passion for those that are the lost, the last and the least. In Luke 15, Jesus talks about the parable of the Lost Son.
God is pictured as the loving Father who when he sees his lost son returning from a distance, runs and embraces him who wasted all of his father’s inheritance on his selfish pleasures.
Time and time again throughout Scripture we are told of this storyline – it’s not the powerful, the rich, the super talented, the influential that God choses and saves. It’s none of those but the total opposite.
Why? Because people who understand their sickness and infection are the ones who will go to a doctor and ask for help. People who understand their weakness and brokenness in sin are the one who will turn to Jesus desperately for help.
Sometimes people who have known me for just a few years presume that I’ve been a religious, pious, nice guy all my life. But the truth is quite far from that. In my teenage years I remember thinking that God & religion wasn’t something I was cut out for mainly due my increasing sin patterns. Even when I did go to church, I went for all the wrong reasons.
I was that guy sitting at the last bench because I didn’t think I was worthy of sitting right in front. For a person like me who had continuous evil thoughts running through my mind, I had mouth filled with cuss words and lifestyle of being an enemy of God, I knew I couldn’t reach God so I stopped trying.
I was so lost in my sin that I thought I was beyond help. But I thank God that He didn’t give up on me but rather pulled me out a deep pit through Jesus’s sacrifice. The amazing truth is that Jesus came looking for me even when I wasn’t thinking about being found.
I was lost, the last and the least among those that people expected to be saved and yet that happened by God’s grace.
And so I share my story to let you know that if you feel like you’re far away from God, if you don’t see yourself as a typical religious churchgoer, maybe you look at yourself and think you’re the last person that God would think of…let me encourage you to know that Jesus is nearer to you than you think. The scope of God’s grace isn’t limited to people who are at a certain level of good. God’s grace extends to those that are lost, the last ones and the least ones.
But not only is God’s forgiveness available for all,
not only is God’s grace extended to the lost, the last and least but also
3. God’s presence is accessible by all who believe
(v44-46)
It was now about the sixth hour,[d] and there was
darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light
failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out
with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And
having said this he breathed his last.
Jesus’ commitment to complete His work on the cross has ensured that we now have full access to God as our Father. And this was highlighted by the curtain or the veil of the temple tearing in two.
The curtain in the temple separated the Most Holy Place from every other place in the temple. The Most Holy Place is where God would dwell in. No one was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place except for the High Priest and that also once a year on the Day of Atonement.
On the Day of Atonement he couldn’t enter it in any manner he wanted. He needed to wear special priestly garments, offer a sacrifice for his own sins and then burn an incense to cover the whole room – and only then would his life be spared! That’s a big deal! God’s presence is a serious thing.
By ourselves if we went into the presence of God, we would be totally consumed. We would die. And now the amazing news is that Jesus has opened the way for us to freely and directly access God’s presence! It’s not limited to one day a year. It’s not limited to only the High Priest.
It’s not limited to going to a single location. God can reveal His presence to us no matter where we are.
Even in a season like COVID-19 where we are locked up at home & quarantined– the amazing truth for believers in Jesus is that we can experience God’s presence in a very scriptural and personal way.
I was encouraged by the interview of a woman who recently recovered from COVID-19 where she testified to being all alone in a hospital room.
Even the medical professionals had kept their distance to avoid receiving the infection. In a room which no one could enter, Jesus was there with her. While she was reading Scripture on her bed, in a very personal way Jesus reminded her of His presence – “Never will I leave you.
Never will I forsake you (Heb 13:5)”. Wait a minute! But I thought Jesus died and was buried? How can Jesus still be with her 2000 years later? If Jesus’ story ended with him being buried in a tomb, it wouldn’t give us any assurance of His everlasting presence.
Instead we know that Sunday is coming. Sunday is coming when Jesus would rise victoriously from the dead & that’s why He can make the most audacious promise to never leave us nor forsake us and still keep it!
Brothers and sisters, let me encourage you to know that Jesus Christ can be present with you right now through His Spirit. Jesus Christ cannot be locked up. No lockdown can stop Jesus from meeting you in your loneliest of times.
Would you come to Him and cry out to Him today?
That’s what makes this and every Good Friday good! Because of Jesus, God’s forgiveness is available for all sins (every bit of them), God’s grace is extended to the lost, the last and the least. God’s presence is accessible to all who believe.
Good morning Church, It’s a beautiful Sunday and I am super excited to connect you through Facebook, I believe you all are spending quality time with your family and friends and I hope you all are doing great and I am sure you all are taking good care of yourself.
As we know, the world is going
through excruciate pain and suffering because of Covid-19 Pandemic, people are
living in fear, anxiety and uncertainty,
This pandemic disease is out of control, many people are dead and many people are fighting for life in a sickbed, many people are jobless, many people are living in hunger and thirst.
In these chaotic circumstances, the church can play a vital role by showing Christ love to the people around us, by showing Christ care and kindness to all the people and most importantly let us point the people around us to Christ, showing them that Christ is the saviour of the world and He is the answer for all our life problems.
Last week I came across an
encouraging quote from the scripture,
I want to read out for all of us.
“If God could Close the
lion’s mouth for Daniel,
Part the Red seas for
Moses
Make the sun stand
still for Joshua
Open the prison for
Peter
Put a Baby in the arm
of Sarah
And Raise Lazarus from
the dead
Then, He can certainly
take care of you
Nothing you are facing
today is too hard for Him to Handle.”
Shall we look to God in prayer:
pray….. Amen
As we enter passion week, we shall
look to the passage related to each occasion, since today is Palm Sunday we
shall meditate from Palm Sunday passage`
Our book study from Thessalonian will
continue in the following week.
Would
you open your bible with me to Matthew 21:1-13?
1.
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of
Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,
2 saying to them, “Go to the village
ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by
her. Untie them and bring them to me.
3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the
Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
4 This took place to fulfil what was
spoken through the prophet:
5 “Say
to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a]
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had
instructed them.
7 They brought the donkey and the colt and
placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.
8 A very large crowd spread their
cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread
them on the road.
9 The
crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosannato the Son of David!”
“Blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c]
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city
was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the
prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves.
13 “It is written,” he said to
them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are
making it ‘a den of robbers.
Before we see the main 3 points let’s see
What is
Palm Sunday?
Palm Sunday marked the start of what is called “passion week” the final days of Jesus earthly ministry, it is the day we remember and celebrate the triumph entry of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem as Saviour and king.
Palm
leaves: Signifies victory / Triumph
Jesus riding on a donkey: When a king rides on a Donkey it symbolises peace. And we know from the scripture that Christ is the prince of peace.
Hosanna: Save us
now/ Deliver/ Rescue us.
Crowd: The crowd shout hosanna because they saw Jesus performing lots of miracles, heal the lame and blind, turn the water into wine, feeding 5000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves, raise Lazarus from the dead and because of this great
They expect that He can rescue them politically and free
them from Roman rule.
But Jesus mission was to save mankind from the slavery of sin and gave mankind eternal life. When the crowd expectation was not met, it was the same crowd who shout crucify Him on Good Friday.
These are a few things I would like to remind before we enter our main points.
I would like to entitle my sermon as
“Your
King is coming”
I would like to bring 3 very important points from the
above passage.
1. Jesus
Enter Jerusalem as a king, who will save mankind from the bondage of sin.
Matthew 21:5. “Say
to Daughter of Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Matthew quote this verse from Old
testament Zacharias 9:9.
Prophet Zacharias prophesy 500 years
prior to the Jesus arrival in Jerusalem.
As Jesus enter Jerusalem the crowd
threw their cloaks on the road, they took the palm leaves and began joyfully
praising God in the Loud voices for all the miracles they have seen.
And they were shouting
“Blessed is the king who comes in the
name of the LORD,
Peace in heaven and glory in the
highest.
Purpose of Christ coming to this world: before that let’s see the
condition of mankind.
1. Christ our king came to this world as a Passover lamb. (Exodus 16).
(Moses told Israelites to pain their
door with the blood of a lamb so that the spirit will Passover your house and
your family,
In the same way if we wash our heart
with the blood of Jesus, His blood will cleanse us from all sins.) he came as a Passover lamb.
2. Christ our king came to this world to give us Eternal life. (John 3:16)
3. Christ our king came to reconcile our broken relationship with the
Father. (Rom.5:1}
(Therefore being justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.)
4. Christ our king came to show us the Way, the Truth and the Life. (John
14:6).
5. Christ our king came to this world to free us from condemnation of
sins. (Rom.8:1).
(There is therefore now no
condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.)
5. Christ our king came to take us to heaven. (John 14:1-3.)
(1.Let not your heart be troubled,
you believe in God, believe in me also.
2. In my fathers house are many
mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you, I will go and prepare a place for you.
3. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and recieve you to myself, that where I am, there
you may be also.)
Application:
Beloved church
Christ has redempt us, His love has
captured us,
Even though if we go through this
corona virus pandemic, facing all kinds of life difficulties and challenges, He
promised us He will never leave us nor forsake us,
His everlasting love is with us.
Roman’s 8: 35.
35. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or perils, or sword.
38. For I am persuaded that neither
death nor life, nor angels nor
principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39. Nor height nor depth, nor any other created things, shall be able
to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This is our bless hope and our
Assurance in Christ Jesus.
He is our beautiful saviour our Lord
and our King.
2. Jesus enter and cleanse the Jerusalem temple.
Matthew 21: 12-13.
12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove
out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the
money changers and the benches of those selling doves.
13 “It is written,” he said to
them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are
making it ‘a den of robbers
Jerusalem
temple was like thieves’ market, all kinds of cheating and lying and betraying
business was going on in the house of the LORD.
Jesus enter and chase them out and
remind them that this house is the house of prayer.
Paul also Remind us in 1 Cor. 6:19-20.
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the
Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your
own;
20 you were bought at a price. Therefore, honour God
with your bodies.
The scripture clearly taught us that our Heart is a Temple
of Holy Spirit.
But sadly, many people entertain their heart with sin like
those people in Jerusalem temple.
From this passage we know that God and sin can’t dwell
together.
God hate sin but He loves sinners, he like to clean all
our sins as He clean up the Jerusalem temple.
Beloved church how are you all maintaining your heart?
Illustration: Garbage story
You know there are times I forgot to dispose kitchen
garbage, when the garbage keeps for so long it smells horrible and the garbage
smell the whole room.
In the same way, if we didn’t confess our sin and didn’t
dispose them, this stinking sin will poison your whole life and even killed
you.
The garbage we store in our heart can be.
(Laziness, cheating, lying, selfishness, bribing, sexual
immorality, drunkenness, pornography,
Lust of the flesh, lust of the eye and the pride of life)
We should not let these things rule and control our heart.
Romans 6:23 says. For the
wages of sin is Dead but the gift of God is eternal life.
Application:
How are you maintaining your heart and your life?
Is it God please with the lifestyle you are living today?
Beloved Let us examine ourselves right now and if there is
any sin in our life and if there is anything hindering us to love Jesus. Let us
confess our sin and make right with Him.
1 John 1: 9. “If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
I strongly believe that the
solution for this corona pandemic is in the hand of God,
The world need to turn to God
and repent for the forgiveness of sins.
May God have mercy on us.
2 Chronicle 7:14.
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray
and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven
and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
3. Jesus enter and wept for Jerusalem.
Luke 19: 41-44.
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over
it
42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this
day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.
43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build
an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.
44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children
within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because
you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
Jesus foresee the heart of the people; he sees their
miserable future;
He knows their hopelessness; He know that these
people will never make it to His kingdom. Knowing all these Jesus cry for them.
In
Noah days before the flood people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving
in marriage, they all miss the
opportunity to be to be in
the ark. Everyone perish in their sin.
In the same way people of Jerusalem lose the golden
opportunity.
Jesus was weeping over the tragedy of lost
opportunity,
the Israelites that assembled in Jerusalem for
Passover miss the opportunity to be saved from both earthly and eternal
destruction.
They were visited by their saviour but they didn’t
know it,
instead of receiving Him they killed Him.
Illustration:
I would like remind with the familiar story from the
bible, the rich man and Lazarus
(Luke
16:19-31).
Rich
man.
God bless him with riches: He misuse his wealth in a wrong way. (partying)
God gave him beautiful life: He waste his beautiful life.
God gave him enough time to live on earth: He misuse his opportunity
He never remembers God in his entire life but he
remembers God in hell fire
but it was too late for him.
Whereas
Poor
Lazarus Know the true living God, he makes use of every
opportunity and he ends up his life in eternal heaven.
God gave time
to all of us to come to him before iti is too late.
Application
How Jesus may be thinking of you right now?
Is he weeping of you? Like He weep for Jerusalem?
Or Is he celebrating because you are his child?
Our
life on earth is short let us make use of every opportunity.
God
is an omniscience God He know the pain and suffering we are going through right
now.
He
know our financial struggles, he knows our life challenges and life struggles.
The
cool part is we are not facing all these complications alone. He promised he
will take care of us. If He takes care of the birds in the air and Lily in the
field, he will surely take care of us.
Matthew
11:28-30.
28 “Come to me, all you who
are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from
me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. 30 For
my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Finally
I wanna close with this beautiful song lyrics.
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
Good morning Gathering! It’s a joy & a privilege to be with you this morning as we open the Scriptures together. I just returned from Taiwan where I, along with Saju and about 150 other pastors and leaders, explored what church planting looks like in the Asia Pacific. It was such a good reminder for me that God is doing the same work throughout the world. He is filling the earth with His glory here in Mumbai, in all of India, in South Asia and to the ends of the earth. And the beautiful thing is that he’s doing it through you, the church. He has chosen to use His church to accomplish His purposes!
I was also reminded this week of how much of a sacred thing this is. We have the unbelievable privilege to come to God, as people who have been redeemed by Him. As people who have been brought back from the dead. We get to gather in His presence and experience the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as His Word performs surgery on hearts. And that is certainly my prayer for us this morning. That God would transform us for His glory. That we would be changed, not just for our sake, but with the goal that the whole earth would be filled with the glory of God through us.
So, I’m going to pray for us to that end. As I begin to pray for us, I’d invite you to turn to Mark chapter 3 in your Bibles. That’s where we’ll be this morning; Mark chapter 3. Let’s pray together.
Now, you might be wondering, “Why on earth are we going to Mark chapter 3” given the fact that we just wrapped up a series in The Gospel of Mark that has spanned a year and a half. That’s a great question! And the answer is that I want for us to consider our response to The Gospel of Mark. We mentioned throughout this journey the fact that Mark was driving us to respond to the coming of God’s Kingdom. He’s driving us toward a response to the call of Jesus in our lives. That’s the consistent message of Mark; that God is doing something new, something glorious, something that He has purposed to do from before the foundation of the world. And then he calls people to respond. So, if we’re not thinking toward a response to the coming of God’s Kingdom, then we’re sort of missing the point.
So, I want us to consider that by looking at three successive interactions that Jesus has in Mark chapter 3, verses 1-15. As we read this, I want for you to ask yourself this question: “How do I respond to the call of Jesus in my life?” I want you to have that question on the forefront of your minds and your hearts as we read this together.
Because this is the primary question in your life; it’s what is most important. If you’ve been around the Gathering for any length of time, you’ve heard me say this time and time again. There is nothing more important in your life than the issue of what you do with Jesus. How you answer this question is more important than your family and your job. It’s more important than anything else because it determines your eternal destination. So, let’s be thinking of that question as we read;
“How do I respond to the call of Jesus in my life?”
“Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” And he strictly ordered them not to make him known. And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.”
We see 3 responses to Jesus in this text, and they aren’t very different from the responses that we see to Jesus in our culture today. So, for the sake of clarity, I want to break these responses down into 3 categories. I’ll give you these up front in case you are taking notes:
FOE
FAN
FOLLOWER
FOE
Let’s start with the FOES of Jesus. I don’t think we need to spend too much time on this one because it’s pretty straightforward. But, I do want to say a couple of important things. The religious leaders, who have set themselves up as foes in response to the revelation of Jesus Christ, are people who are spiritually blind. Yes, they oppose the Kingdom of God. But it’s because they cannot see the truth. Yes, they miss who Jesus is. But it’s because they lack an understanding that God is doing something new, something beautiful & something different.
I think there’s a lot that I could say about this, but I believe what’s most important for us to recognize is this: We were all, at one time, enemies of God. I don’t care what your spiritual condition is right now. I don’t care how long you’ve been walking with The Lord and how much intimacy you have with Him right now. You were at one time His enemy.
Colossians 1:21 — “We were all once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds…”
Romans 5:10 — “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”
There are many other verses that point out this truth. Our natural spiritual condition (because of the fall) is one of enmity with God. Our natural posture toward God is us running as far away from Him, as fast as we can. And that’s true of every single one of us at one time in our lives.
We were defined by pride, self-righteousness and rebellion. The same things that defined the religious leaders who were continuously opposing Jesus. Those things defined us at one point in our lives.
Now listen, some of you might fit into that category right now. You are standing opposed to the things of God because you have been blinded to the truth of who He is and how He loves you. You might think you know Him. You might think you’re following Him, but you’re really worshipping some version of Jesus and following some version of Christianity that you’ve invented.
Can I tell you something beautiful this morning? You’re not here on accident. God purposed, from before the foundation of the world, that you would be here and you would hear the truth that:
You can spend a lifetime trying to figure out how to find peace, and joy, and satisfaction and fulfilment. But, all you’re really searching for is how to be reconciled to the God who created you and who loves you. And the world & your flesh would have you believe that you can find what you’re searching for in any number of other things. But it’s a lie! The only way to be reconciled to God; to be made right with Him; to have peace with Him, is to embrace the Kingdom of God by submitting your life to the One who died in your place. His name is Jesus!
He died, taking on the sin of the world (taking on your sin), and offers you His righteousness — His right standing with God — in return. That’s the truth of the gospel. It’s the truth that you don’t have to be an enemy of God anymore. You don’t have to oppose Him. You don’t have to run from Him. You don’t have to try to earn or find things that you can never earn or find apart from Jesus Christ. The good news of the gospel is that, where there was separation, now there can be reconciliation by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
So, that’s the first type of reaction we see to Jesus. It’s people who oppose Him. They are His foes. The next type of response to Jesus isn’t quite as clear, and I think we have to dig a little bit to uncover it.
FAN
This is what I would call fans of Jesus — the crowd that followed Him. I want you to think about what’s happening here.
As Jesus removes Himself from this conflict with the religious leaders, a mass of people followed after Him. And it’s not just Jews from the region that were following Jesus. This was a mixture of Jews & Gentiles, and they were coming from all over. They were coming from places like Tyre & Sidon, way in the North of the region. They were coming from Idumea, way down in the South by the Dead Sea. They were coming from the Decapolis, across the Jordan in the East. And from the Western shores of the Mediterranean. People were coming from all over the place because they had heard what Jesus could do. They had heard stories about Him.
In fact, so many people followed Jesus that He had His disciples set up an escape boat so that, if things got too crazy, they could just jump in the boat and not be pressed into the sea by the crowd.
Here’s the thing about these crowds. They didn’t really care about being with Jesus. They cared about what Jesus could do for them. They cared about what they could get from Him. We know that for several reasons, I’ll just give you one. There are many times in the gospels where Jesus would say a really hard thing and everyone in the crowd would leave except His actual followers. The best example of this is probably in John chapter 6 when people were following Jesus because they wanted food from Him. They had heard what Jesus had done to feed the multitudes and now they are looking for food from Jesus. But Jesus tells them, “if you want to follow me, you have to eat my flesh and drink my blood.” And, after He said that, everyone left Him except His true followers.
You see, these fans of Jesus wanted things from Him, just as long as it didn’t cost them too much! Do you know what the definition of that is? That’s consumerism. Getting maximum return with minimum investment is the definition of consumerism.
And that’s where much of the world who says they follow Jesus actually lives. They live in nominalism, easy beliefism, luke-warm attempts at Christianity. Like, “I’m good with Jesus, as long as He can do things for me.” “But, if things get difficult, or weird, or are going to cost me too much, I’m out!”
Much of what we see in the modern day church has produced a lot of fans of Jesus. It’s produced a lot of people who claim Jesus with their lips, but not with their lives. And, if you really want to evaluate if you fit into this category, just think about how you relate to the church. How we relate to one another in the church is a direct reflection of how we relate to Jesus. You can’t get around it because He’s the head of the church & the church is His bride. If you take a consumeristic posture with your church, I’ll guarantee you, you have a consumeristic posture toward Jesus.
I have to tell you this morning, that must change. We must repent where that’s happening, because Jesus hasn’t called us to be His fans; He’s called us to follow Him. In our text, we see Jesus retreat from the crowd. He retreats from the masses, from the people who want things from Him. He retreats from His fans to do what? To call and to charge His followers. That’s our 3rd category;
FOLLOWER
I want you to listen closely to what He says to His followers, because this is the call to His followers today. Listen closely to this, because if you are here and actually want to Follow Jesus. If you don’t want to settle for some luke-warm, comfortable, consumeristic version of Christianity (which isn’t Christianity at all). If you want what’s real. If you want Jesus, because you know that He made it all, He paid for it all, He claims it all & He rules over it all. If that’s what you want, then hear His call this morning. Let me read it again; it’s verses 13 & 14:
“And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach”
Mark 3: 13-14
He says, “Be with me and preach my gospel.” That’s the charge that Jesus gives His followers then, and it’s the call that He lays before His followers this morning. Just think about these things for a moment. “Be with me.” Isn’t that incredible? We get to be with Jesus? As in, be in His presence. As in, have a relationship with Him. We don’t deserve that! We deserve separation. We deserve death. We deserve His wrath. But, because of the substitutionary work of Christ for us, we get to be with God again.
We can finally have that thing that has been echoing in our souls since the garden when we were separated from Him. And it’s all because of His goodness & His loving-kindness toward us in Christ.
When is the last time you just sat still for a little while and pondered the fact that you get to be with God? You know what weeds out the fans? This is that John 6 passage that I referenced earlier. Is your goal really just to be with Jesus, and you don’t care about anything else?
The second thing that Jesus says is “Join me in the work.” Which is equally incredible! Listen, God does not need us to accomplish His mission. He chooses to use us because He loves us. And, because being with Him will necessarily mean that we’re on mission with Him because He is a God of mission.
We get to walk in joyful obedience and follow closely behind the One who died for us. We get to be with the One who bought us back from Satan, sin & death. We get to follow Him and be with Him as He leads us. Church, I promise you, there is no better place to be. Let’s not be a group of fans. Let’s not just be interested spectators as God works to redeem and restore a broken world. Let’s be obedient followers as He calls us into that work.
Let me close by saying this: Your inclusion in the Kingdom of God means participation in the kingdom of God. Jesus is calling you to be with Him & to be about His work, no matter the cost. The question is: “How do you respond to that call?”
If you’re here this morning and this is new for you. You don’t know Jesus like this, or you don’t know if you know Jesus like this. Every word in Scripture is meant to drive you to this one overarching truth: Jesus Christ is your righteousness! Please don’t miss that. Because, ultimately, that’s the call this morning. JESUS CHRIST IS YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS! He is the door. He is the path. He is your all-in-all. He is life itself. He is the only way for you to be reconciled to God. No amount of good behavior, or religious activity or anything else will give you right standing with God. The only one who can save you, redeem you, restore you, and make you righteous is Jesus Christ Himself. And we only experience that by grace (which is a gift) and through faith in Him.
If you’re here
this morning and you are a Christian. Let this fall fresh on your heart this
morning. Your primarily calling is to be with Jesus. That, before you are
called to do anything for Jesus, you are called to be with Him and abide in
Him.
If you’re
like me, you probably had a rough last couple of days. It could be because of
frustration and stress at work, or because of a rough patch in a relationship,
a sickness in the family, failure in your studies, a sadness due to unanswered
prayers, or you’ve been cheated by someone, or you are struggling with sin that
you’re not able to get rid of.
And you
are here this morning, all dressed up for the Resurrection Sunday, with smiles
on your faces, joy in your demeanour and a twinkle in your eye. But inside, you
are broken, joyless, you’re in despair, in pain, feel hopeless, feel lonely,
feel hurt & angry.
If you
are in this state of mind this morning, then I want to talk about what does the
Resurrection of Jesus mean to us in our present situation and how should we
respond so we can enjoy the full benefits of what Christ has achieved for us on
the Cross of Calvary.
We are in
Mark 16 where Jesus is dead and buried, and there is a sadness in the air. If
you’ve ever experienced a sudden death of a loved one in your family, you know
what that feeling is.
Everything
around us moves in slow motion, we go through a period of disbelief, we
question the meaning of life, everything we do seems meaningless and less
important, we lose all our energy crying, and there is no more joy left in us.
We wish this world would end soon.
I assume
that is the exact feeling all the disciples and followers of Jesus were going
through at this moment.
And then
Mark tells us that after the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James
and Salome, along with other women brings spices to anoint the body of Jesus.
As they
are walking towards the tomb, they are worried about how to roll away the stone
from the entrance of the tomb, but when the women reach the tomb, they see the
stone has already been rolled back.
And
entering the tomb they find a man sitting on the right side, the other gospel
writers mention it was an angel who met them at the tomb. The angel gives them
the news that the Jesus they buried is not here; He has Risen.
The angel
tells them to go and say the news to the disciples, but instead, Mark says they
were afraid and did not speak a word.
When we
read the account of the Resurrection of Jesus, even within the four Gospels, we
see a lot is happening there, and the account of each of the Gospel writers
seems to contradict each other. The sceptics often use these contradictions to
the point that Jesus’s Resurrection, it never happened.
But as I
read, studied & investigated these accounts I did find the answer to the
contradictions and was able to rest my heart.
But my
goal today is not to clear the doubt surrounding the contradictions but to
highlight and speak about the main event that happened, which is “Jesus had
Risen from the Dead.”
Jesus’s resurrection
was an unlikely event that happened, most people in that time never experienced
or heard news like that. None of them even expected such a thing to happen.
It is
crucial for us to know that what was happening there was a fulfilment of a
prophecy that was made many years ago which appeared in the book of Isaiah
written in the 8th century BCE.
Isiah
writes, God himself, left his heavenly throne, lived among us, bore our griefs,
carried our sorrows, pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our
iniquities, offered himself to die on our behalf as a sacrifice for our sins,
to reconcile us back to Him.
When God
made the world, a beautiful and perfect one beyond our imagination, the 9 to 10
thousand species of birds, 1.2 million species of animals, 34,000 recognised
species of fish, the trees, the mountains.
The bible
says he also made man in His own image, with around 78 organs in one single
body, the most dominant, complex and powerful species that live on earth.
He
created us like Him to commune with Him on his level, we were just like Him and
enjoyed the most beautiful relationship that ever existed. But the whole idea
was to live on Gods terms, under His rule and dominion, but what did we do?
We
rejected His rule by disobeying His commands and devaluing His authority.
And
according to God’s law, the penalty of disobedience is death. Just like it is
when we break the rules that govern a country.
The only
entity that could pardon our sins and save us from death was God himself. And
that is why Jesus, the beloved Son of God, who was God himself came down to
earth, lived a perfect life in the sight of God on our behalf and took the
penalty of our Sins and died on our behalf.
But
sadly, for most of the people in this world, the story of Jesus ends right
there. And why not, isn’t that the image of Christ we often portray to the
world. The image of Jesus hung on the cross, helpless, dead, displayed in
churches, carried by Christians…. But isn’t that just a half-told story.
What the
world often fails to recognise and believe is the fact that Jesus didn’t just
die but also he also defeated Sin and satan, and on the third day he rose
again.
Without
the Resurrection of Jesus, our story is incomplete.
In this
context, here’s why Jesus’s resurrection is essential and what should mean to
us.
1. The Resurrection affirms our death to Sin
When we
were not in Christ we were slaves to Sin, Sin ruled in our mortal bodies.
Knowingly, unknowingly we lived a life of disobedience to God. But the day we
heard about our saviour Jesus, and our hearts responded with repentance and
faith, we also proclaimed to the world through the waters of baptism.
Romans
6:4 says “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order
that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we
too might walk in newness of life.”
Romans
6:8 – “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with
him.”
Romans
6:10-11 “For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he
lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and
alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
To those
who’ve been struggling with sin in the last few days, filled with guilt and
shame, unable to walk in the light, holding yourself back from fellowshipping
with other believers, holding yourself back from confessing your sin to God, to
one another asking for forgiveness.
My
encouragement to you is to remember that you are no more slave to the sin you
are struggling with, in Christ you are a new creation. Do not let the devil
trick you from believing that God will not accept you.
Take
courage like the prodigal son and return to the Father who loves you and will
embrace you if you genuinely repent and is willing to put your faith in his son
Jesus.
2. The Resurrection gives hope for the future
Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy,
he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead.
Brothers
& sisters, you may be going through a tough circumstance, one that you
think is beyond your capacity to handle. But remember, we are not a people
without hope. Through the Resurrection power of Jesus, we have been born to a
living hope.
We can
call unto him for help, and he will answer us from His Holy Hill. His promised
that he will never leave us and never forsake us. Even though we walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, he is with us. His rod and his staff, they
comfort us.
Do not
put your hope in man.
And even
if we die on this earth, our life story will not end. We will spend eternity in
heaven with Christ, in his glory.
Therefore,
my encouragement to you is to always lift up your eyes unto the Lord, from whom
our help comes. Set our minds on the heavenly things and not on the earthly
pain.
And
remind yourself of the glorious future we have in the heavenly Kingdom of God.
We don’t need a passport or a visa to enter his Kingdom, the blood of Christ on
us is the proof that we belong. No guard or security can stop us.
Because
of the Resurrection of Christ, we are people of hope.
3. The Resurrection strength our witness in Christ
1 Cor
15:17 – 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are
still in your sins.
The fact
that Jesus indeed rose from death is the evidence of our faith. The Gospel is
incomplete without Resurrection. The world needs to know that Jesus isn’t
always hanging on the cross, but that he has risen from the dead and is seated
on the right hand of the God the Father, interceding from you and me.
The story
of Resurrection ought to be told to every man and women because if they don’t
hear the complete full story, they will never respond, they will leave the
earth and end up in hell without knowing that there was a way for them to save
themselves from hell.
Along
with redemption from sin, and eternal hope, we are also called to be
ambassadors of this good news. The day we received Christ in our hearts and was
adopted into the family of God, we also took up the responsibility to join the
Fathers business which is to preach the good news to the ends of the earth.
Let us
not be like the women who were afraid and didn’t go out to tell the news to
others.
The Bible
says as children of God we are co-heirs with Christ, and there is a reward
waiting for us in heaven.
Remember,
as we share this good news with others, don’t forget to tell the Resurrection
story, because without the Resurrection of Jesus our faith is futile, our story
is incomplete.
Good morning Gathering!
It is a joy to be with you this morning to celebrate the gospel, and it’s a
privilege to open the Word of God together. Our prayer this morning is that the
Lord would conform us to the image of Jesus.
If you have a Bible,
I’m going to ask you to turn with me to Mark chapter 15. We’re going to read a
pretty big portion of scripture this morning that details the events of Jesus’
crucifixion. We’ll look specifically at verses 21-39. If you’ve been following
along with us in this series, you know what has transpired over the last 24
hours or so.
Jesus has been betrayed; He’s been abandoned; He’s been arrested and bound. He’s been denied; He’s been falsely accused; falsely tried and falsely convicted. He’s been beaten, spat upon and ridiculed. He watched as Barabbas, a known criminal, was set free as He was sentenced to die. He was derided, mocked and scourged so badly that He would have been unrecognizable at this point. And now we come to the account of His death. Let’s read this together. Mark 15:21-39
If you’re like me,
you’ve probably read that text (along with the accompanying crucifixion
passages in Matthew, Luke & John) many times before. I’ve probably read
this text 100 times or more. But there’s something that occurred to me as I was
studying it over the last couple of weeks that hadn’t occurred to me before.
There’s this little phrase in verse 24 that jumped out at me. It says, “And
they crucified Him…”. That’s all Mark really says about the the details of
the actual crucifixion.
So then I went and read
the other accounts in the other 3 gospels, and Matthew, Luke & John were
equally brief. They all talk about some things that Jesus says on the cross.
They talk about different interactions with people who were there and other
details like that. But, when it comes to the crucifixion itself (what actually
happened physically), they all pretty much just say, “He was crucified…”
Here’s why that grabbed
my attention. We tend to focus our thoughts on the physical pain & torture
of the crucifixion of Jesus. And with good reason. This was a horrible way to
die. The Romans had mastered an exceptionally cruel way to kill someone. Where,
with your feet placed together (one on top of the other), they would drive a
large spike through both of your feet & into the wood.
They would then drive
spikes though each one of your hands, likely near the joint, so that your
weight could be supported as you hung. And they were careful in the placement
of the spikes. They didn’t want to hit any major arteries that would give the
victim the luxury of bleeding out. In fact, some people hung there for days
before their heart would give out or their lungs would fill with fluid, to the
point that they were no longer able to breathe.
Our minds tend to go
there because of the brutality and the physical pain that would have been
involved. We think of images from a move like, “The Passion of the Christ” and
we shudder at what Jesus would have endured physically that day.
But the question I
found myself asking is, “Is that really where our minds should go?” “Is that
where Mark and the other gospel writers intended for us to dwell in our
thoughts?” The reality is that this was a common way for people to die. There
were 2 other men that suffered physically that day as well; one on Jesus’ left
and one on His right. In fact, 10’s of thousands of people had suffered that
same death throughout the history of the Roman Empire.
So, it’s not the
physical pain that was unique about what Jesus endured that day. I think that’s
why the gospel writers don’t give us much detail about the physical torment.
They just say, “And they crucified Him…”. But they do give a lot of other
details. And I think Mark’s intention is that we would focus on another aspect
of what Jesus endured that day.
Here it is; I’m just
going to give it to you up front. This is our main idea for this morning, and
it’s summed up in 1 word: SHAME. I don’t
think that Mark is directing our attention to the PAIN of the cross, but to the
SHAME of the cross. Just think about the details that we’ve been studying over
the last several weeks. I’ve already said this in our recap, but let me repeat
it so we can see the flow of these things.
Jesus is rejected,
despised and ridiculed by almost everyone. The Ruling Council and the soldiers,
mocking Him, spitting on Him and busing Him. He was in such bad shape that
someone had to carry His cross for Him. Then they strip Him & crucify Him.
And there He hangs, with no dignity. The ONE who created every person there (in
His image), being hung (unrecognizable) by the ones He created.
We see Him harassed and
ridiculed by the crowds passing by as they lob obscenities at Him, deride Him
and throw His sayings back in His face. “I thought you’d destroy the Temple
& rebuild it in 3 days. How about instead you get yourself off that Cross?
Oh — you can’t!” The Chief Priests & Scribes got in on the ridicule of
Jesus: “He can heal the sick, but can’t help Himself.” Shame, upon shame, upon
shame.
This theme of
abandonment & rejection, starting with Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. Through
his friends falling asleep in His moment of need. Through them fleeing at His
arrest & then Peter’s denial of Him. Through the false trial; the false
accusations; he false imprisonment; the beatings; the flogging; the ridicule;
the abuse; the rejection from nearly everyone. Shame, upon shame, upon shame.
This is where I think Mark wants our minds to be drawn.
Let’s understand that
this is the exact opposite of what Jesus deserved. When you look at His life
& ministry, He loved perfectly; He served perfectly; He healed; He
restored; He brought life; He brought value & worth to everyone He
encountered. He infused hope where there was no hope. He mended things that
were desperately broken. All that He was and all that He did was good &
right. And yet, here He is suffering the worst SHAME imaginable. So, what can
we learn from this and how can that drive us deeper into the gospel & cause
our lives to look different?
Here it is church (and
we all desperately need to hear this truth):
Jesus didn’t just bear your sin on the cross, He also bore your SHAME. I
want to say that again because it’s important. Jesus did bear our sin on the
cross, to be sure. But He also bore our SHAME on the cross. I want you to think
about your life right now, as it relates to shame. Shame for your past. Shame
for your current failings & struggles.
Shame because of what
other people think of you (maybe what your family thinks of you because you
decided to follow Jesus). Shame for what you think of yourself; that you’re not
good enough or you don’t measure up. Shame for any number of reasons. Shame is
a crushing burden. It’s not just a feeling, or a way of thinking, it’s an
experience. Where you’re experiencing yourself as defective, empty, worthless
and trashed.
What I’m saying is that
Jesus took all of that on Himself, on the cross, for you. To the point where I
can say with confidence this morning that if you are experiencing shame in your
life on a regular basis, you’re not experiencing the gospel the way that God
intends for you to. Because you will know the truth, and the truth will SET YOU
FREE. The gospel brings freedom from sin and all of its effects, and that
includes our shame.
But the truth is that
most of us do deal with shame in varying degrees. So how do we see the gospel
applied to our lives in a way that drives out shame and replaces it with the
truth that we are fully accepted & approved by God in Jesus Christ? That’s
the question I want us to wrestle with in these next few minutes.
And, here’s how I think
we can get at it. I want to walk you through this and show you how it works
with the hope that, if we’re able to see clearly how the enemy works, and what
Christ has done to defeat it, we can put on right belief this morning and walk
in that. So, to understand this, we have to go all the way back to the garden
(Genesis chapter 3) and the fall of man.
You don’t have to turn
there, because you know the story. I can just recap this for us a bit. You have
Adam & Eve living in perfect communion with God. They’re with Him; they’re
in His presence; they’re worshipping and enjoying God the way we were all
created to. And we get a picture of this spiritual freedom because of the fact
that they were naked, and they were cool with that!
That’s a horrifying
thought for us now, isn’t it? We have actual nightmares about that; about being
naked in public places. But, it wasn’t like that for Adam & Eve in the
beginning because there was no sin & there was no shame. God was enough for
them, until He wasn’t. You know the story.
They’re tempted by the
Serpent, they didn’t trust God, but instead they went their own way and ate
fruit from the tree that was forbidden by God. And sin entered the picture. And
what did they immediately do after sin enters the picture? They cover
themselves & they hide from God. That’s how we know that shame entered with
sin, because that’s what you do when you’re ashamed; you hide.
And, when that
happened, separation from God happened. Adam & Eve were driven from the
Garden and man no longer had direct access to God. That’s why we see the
concept of a mediator introduced and then portrayed throughout the Old
Testament. It’s why this thick curtain separated the Holy of Holies from the
rest of the Tabernacle.
It symbolized the
separation that sin brought between us & God. And this is what makes the
gospel so glorious and so beautiful. Jesus is our mediator. Jesus is our
substitute. Jesus is our prophet, priest & king. Jesus died in our place,
with our sin upon His shoulders. And, when He did, He severed the root of
shame. 1 John 3:8, “The devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason
the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” Jesus came to
destroy Satan, sin and death. And that includes the shame that exists in us, as
a result of sin.
So here’s the tension
that we feel. We still give ourselves over to sin, don’t we? Of course we do. 1
John 1:10, “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is
not in us.” So, when we sin, we feel that sense of shame return. And that makes
sense because sin is shameful; it’s disgraceful. But, it’s not like it was
before Jesus came. The paradigm has completely changed. Jesus bore our SIN
& our SHAME on that cross.
And, in doing that, He
has taken them from you and given you His righteousness. This is why, as we
just read, the curtain was torn in two when Jesus completed His work on the
cross. No more separation! No more shame! No more needing to hide from God!
Jesus has completely reoriented how we see sin & shame in our lives. Now,
we don’t have to hide from God anymore. Instead of running into the bushes, we
can run into His because Jesus has made a way.
In fact, let me work
toward closing our time by continuing to read this passage in 1 John. This is
chapter 2, verses 1 & 2. If you’d like to turn there, that would be great.
I really want for us to key in on what John is saying here. “My little
children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if
anyone does sin, we have an ADVOCATE with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous. He is the PROPITIATION for our sins.”
For the Non-Christian:
Jesus is the only way for you to have sin & shame removed from you, and
have righteousness (right standing) before God. People will spend their entire
lives trying to earn something that can only be obtained by grace & through
faith. They will spend their entire lives trying to find joy, peace,
satisfaction & fulfillment in things that will never bring them. Those
things are found ONLY IN CHRIST.
For the Christian: The
only way to live in freedom from sin & shame is for you to continually
allow the gospel to wash over your heart and believe that these things are true
of you. We must learn to preach the gospel continually to our hearts and battle
unbelief with the truth of the gospel. When the enemy comes to you with guilt
and shame, tell him to go measure how far the east is from the west and get
back to you, because that’s how far God has removed your sin and shame.
Good Morning Church, Our passage for today is Mark 15:1-20
After Jesus
was arrested and accused with many false allegations by the Pharisees &
Scribes, he was brought to the Pilate who was the Governor at that time. The
first question Pilate asks Jesus is “Are you the King of the Jews?”. To which
Jesus answers “You have said so”.
Since the
Pharisees didn’t have any reasonable charge against Jesus they falsely accuse
Him by informing the Pilate that He calls Himself the “King of the Jews” which
in those days was a crime. It was a crime because the region was ruled by
Emperor Tiberius and anyone calling himself as a King was a threat to the Roman
Empire and deserved severe punishment.
Mark tells
us that the chief priests accused Jesus of many other things, and when Pilate
again asked Him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring
against you.” Jesus made no further answer which Mark says amazed the Pilate.
And the
reason I believe Pilate was amazed was that He knew the allegations were false
and that Jesus could have easily defended his case and proved himself innocent,
but that is not what Jesus did.
Instead,
Jesus gave himself up for the sinful and rebellious people of this world. He
absorbed the injustice happening to Him which neither Pilate nor others could
understand or comprehend.
Being on
the other side of redemptive history we now know that Jesus was giving himself
up for a greater purpose of redeeming mankind from the clutches of sin and
death to a restored relationship with creator God, the Father in heaven who
sent him to earth for this very purpose.
Philippians
2:6-8
Who, though
he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be
grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in
the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by
becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
1 John
2:2
He is the
propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the
whole world.
Because of
our sin & rebellion, our hearts have turned against the God who created us
for His glory. We’ve become sinful, unworthy & unholy people who love
sinning and rebelling against the authority of God.
Because of
which God’s Holy wrath is upon us and the punishment for sin is death &
destruction.
But because
God so immensely loved us, he sent His son Jesus who takes our sins upon
himself and absorbs the wrath of God that was upon us.
Jesus stays
silent in the presence of Pilate and refuses to defend the false allegations
upon him because He was willingly taking the punishment upon himself, the sins
of the whole world, all the people, even till this day.
The wrath
of God that was upon us He took it upon himself.
As He is
doing so, he is also making his identity known to the people. When Pilate asks
whether or not he is the King of the Jews, Jesus openly makes a bold
affirmation that He is the King. To the High priests, he also affirmed that He
is the Son of Man who will sit at the right hand of the Most High and will come
back on the clouds.
What amazes
me are the people group that was present at the greatest moment in history and
yet failed to recognise & accept Jesus as their King.
The first
group of people are the Pharisees and the Scribes who were theological scholars
who went to Christian seminaries and studied the scriptures in and out. Read
all the prophecies that were spoken about Jesus by Prophet Isaiah, King David
and many others.
But unfortunately,
they were so full of pride and narcissism that they couldn’t imagine letting go
of their self-made fame and the authority they had over the people. They loved
their position and wealth so much that they couldn’t stand Jesus who was
challenging their authority, and even said and did things that were shaking
their mini-kingdom. Accepting Jesus as the King meant losing their business and
giving up on all their ungodly wealth, pleasures & pursuits.
The second
group of people were the disciples and the followers of Jesus, even the Roman
soldiers, who saw Jesus perform great miracles, heal the sick, heard Him speak
about the Kingdom of God. Some of them even convinced that He was the Son of
God who came to make all things new by offering himself as a sacrifice for
their sins.
But
unfortunately, these guys were so full of fear, lacked courage and was
unprepared & unwilling to pay the cost of being His disciples, because of
which they kept their mouth shut, and some even went hiding like the Apostle
Peter.
The third
group of people were the crowds and the onlookers, these were people who were
so self-absorbed with their own lives, all they wanted was to be entertained.
They probably knew nothing about Jesus or even what was happening, they might
have considered the man Jesus as one of the criminals who has been punished for
treason.
And we look
at these people groups, it is easy for us to sit here and judge their actions
and condemn them for their behaviour towards Jesus but we can totally forget
that we too can possess the same qualities like them and behave in the same
manner as they did.
Just as
Jesus affirmed to Pilate that He is the King, not only of the Jews but the King
of all generations, of all cultures, of all people groups, of all tribes, of
all nations. Even till this day, he continues to show and affirm it to the
world that He is the true King.
He is doing
it through the faithful witness of His redeemed people, he is doing it by
appearing in dreams and visions, he is doing it by showing His glory through
the creation and in many other ways.
But still
many of us fail to see and accept Him as the King of our lives and even fail to
submit ourselves under His Authority.
Let me
share with you three reasons from the passage why we fail to see and accept Him
as our King. I will also share with you some practical applications on how we
can overcome our failures.
1.The first reason we fail to see Him as our King is because of our spiritual blindness.
I’ll put
the onlookers and the spectators in this category of the people group. For our
context, we’re talking about the unbelievers of this world. They are people in
our families, in our workplace, in our neighborhood, who’ve heard the story of Jesus,
even seen the movie Passion of Christ, but are so self-absorbed with their
lives that they just can’t get their head around it and are unable to put their
faith in Jesus.
They are
spiritually blind, and the reason these people are spiritually blind and unable
to see Christ as the true King is explained by Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:4. He
writes “In their case the god of this world (Devil) has blinded their minds, to
keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is
the image of God.”
Maybe there
are some of us sitting here this morning, you’ve come to church because someone
invited you here, you’ve even heard the story of Jesus multiple times, but for
some reason, you are unable to get your head around it and unable to believe
this truth and follow Jesus.
There is a
possibility that the enemy of Christ, the god of this world, the devil has
blinded our mind from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.
If you are
that person and you desire to know this Jesus the way others in this room sees
him, you want to know Him as the true King of this world and of your life. I
suggest that you talk to Jesus as if you are talking to a real person and ask
Him to open your eyes and reveal himself to you.
And if you
do that with an honest and a seeking heart, I can confidently say that he will
take away that veil of blindness from your eyes and will surely reveal himself
to you as He has revealed himself to us.
One of our
family friend who was a young Muslim girl by the name of Saira Banu, now known
as Sarah. When she was in college, someone shared the story of Jesus with her
and one day as she was doing her regular Namaz (Muslim Prayer) she spoke to
Jesus and told him if you are the true God then reveal yourself to me, and I
will follow you all the days of my life. The same night Jesus appeared to her
in a dream and spoke. And since then she’s been a believer and a follower of
Jesus.
The story
of Saira Banu is one of the many stories in which Jesus has revealed himself as
King.
There are
also many here who’ve been sharing the Gospel and telling the story of Jesus to
your family member, a co-worker, a neighbor, a stranger on the street. But no
matter how diligently you try, they fail to understand and fail to respond in
faith, as if there is a veil that’s blocking their minds from seeing and
accepting Christ as the King.
My
encouragement to you is that you share the Gospel please also pray for that
person, even more diligently. It is not enough for us to just share the story of
Jesus and hope that he or she will respond in faith. The problem is their
spiritual blindness. It is not our eloquent words and persuasive gospel-sharing
methods that will open their minds. Only God can open their minds and help them
see Jesus as the true King.
Pray before
the Gospel, pray after sharing the Gospel. We are a believer because someone
prayed for us. The person I could is my Mom who diligently prayed for me and
asked God to open my eyes to the truth and to use me as His servant.
2.The second reason why people fail to see Jesus as the true King and follow Him is because of lack of courage and unpreparedness & unwillingness to pay the cost of becoming His follower.
I’ll put
the disciples & the followers of Jesus in this category of people who knew
Jesus was the true King but failed to acknowledge or stand with him when he was
being crucified.
There are
many us even today when we heard the Gospel, our eyes opened, and our hearts
responded in faith. We dropped our idols, our past ways, and decided to follow
Jesus.
But as soon
as we started experiencing the reality of living for Jesus, paying the cost and
carrying our cross daily, face threat & persecution from family and friends
because of our faith any even other kinds of sufferings we undergo. We either
end up abandoning him, or we’ve stopped acknowledge Jesus as our King of lives
and follow him wholeheartedly.
Coming to a
safe environment like church or GC and declaring ourselves as Christian is easy
but when we’re out in the world we feel scared, we lack courage, we feel
unprepared & unwilling to pay the cost of being His disciple.
In Luke
14:26-27 Jesus said
26 You
cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and
mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot come
with me unless you love me more than you love your own life.
27 You
cannot be my disciple unless you carry your own cross and come with me.
You may ask
How do we buckle up such courage?
The answer
to that question is to be men who are filled and led by the Holy Spirit. Before
Jesus ascended into heaven, he told His disciples that the Holy Spirit will
come upon them, whom the Father will send in his name, to teach us all things
and bring to our remembrance all that I have said to you.
The same
Spirit, when it is upon us also gives us the courage to follow Jesus and obey
His commands no matter what circumstances we’re facing.
Remember,
when the disciples were the upper room and praying, the Holy Spirit came upon
them and, the same Peter who denied Jesus, stood with the other eleven, lifted
up his voice, addressed the crowd, preached the Gospel with boldness and three
thousand souls were added to the Kingdom of God. Theologians say that Peter was
crucified for his faith in Christ.
Do you lack
the courage to stand up for Jesus and declare Him as the King of your life? Are
you not prepared to pay the cost of being of Jesus?
My
encouragement to you is ask the Lord to fill you with His Holy Spirit and He
will give you the strength and courage needed to face challenging situations.
3.And finally, the third reason why we fail to accept Him as our King is because we tend to love darkness more than light.
I’ll put
the Pharisees and the Scribes in this category of people who were okay to
release and tolerate a criminal & a murderer like Barabas instead of Jesus.
Just because Barabas wasn’t going to disrupt their fame, wealth & ungodly
pursuits but Jesus would.
We’ve heard
the Gospel, accepted the fact that Jesus is the true King, pretend to be a
Christian, even go to Church but have not yet given full reign of our lives to
King Jesus.
I’m sorry
to say, but a Half-hearted surrendering is no surrendering at all.
And the
reason some of us haven’t given full reign of our lives to King Jesus is
because we love the darkness more than light, we love the pleasure of sin than
the joy of being with Jesus, we love slothfulness & comforts more than
diligence to Christ, we love money, wealth & possessions more than God.
In Matthew
6:24 Jesus said “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the
one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
In Matthew
7:21-23 Jesus said
21 “Not
everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but
he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that
day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your
name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them,
‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Brothers
& sisters, it may seem like there is joy is pursuing the world and its
pleasures, but remember the end is not going to be pleasurable as you think.
Without complete surrender to Jesus and his Kingship over our lives we are
never going to make it to heaven and sadly end up in the wrong place.
Fully
surrendering to Jesus & accepting His as our King doesn’t mean that we will
become perfect human beings. For as long as we are in this flesh, we will be
imperfect.
But a man
and a woman who is truly for Jesus will live a life of continual repentance and
belief in the Gospel. And they will produce Fruit as they keep up with
Repentance.
Jesus said
a good tree will be known by its fruit and so is a truly surrendered Christian.
If you are
in that place this morning, I want to urge you to repent of your sins, give up
on your pride, let loose of your grip on money and possessions and see and
accept Jesus as your true King and the greatest treasure of your Life.
1 John 1:9
says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
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?
