Jesus, the Cornerstone - Part 2

 This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on September 15th 2024 by Lasya. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

JESUS, THE CORNERSTONE 

Part 2 

Last week we looked at Jesus, the cornerstone - what does it mean that Jesus is the cornerstone of the church? That our faith is built on the revelation of who he is. So we are doing a check of the foundation, making sure that we are building on the cornerstone. 

1. Believe that Jesus is who the Bible says he is - he is fully man, fully God - he has a dual nature and he is absolutely real. 

We believe the truth of the bible that Jesus is from God and is God, he became incarnate, he was born to a virgin who was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit having no imputed sin of Adam. Only one other man in the history of creation without a human father and that was Adam. The virgin birth of Jesus Christ is important because in Christ, God was creating a new humanity. Illustration of a glass of dirty water. 

2. Believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection

Salvation is simple. We simply receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We do not need to complicate that with 100s of doctrines. Imagine at the time you came to receive Jesus, if you have been preached about total depravity, perseverance of the saints, the doctrine of man and God… we are not saved by the cleverness of perfect theology, they are saved by the power of God. Peter’s speech at Pentecost v. the book of Romans. But the Bible is full of theology because it's meant for us to grow in our faith through it. If you’re here just looking in, not sure whether you really want to receive this Jesus or not, this is my message - God so loves YOU, that he sent his only son, that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. To the rest, we are here to remind ourselves of the life and work of Jesus - to study his word and build ourselves up in the most holy faith.  (Jude 1:20) 

1. The sufficiency of his sacrifice for our sin: Not just as a historical fact, but that he took our sin and shame on the cross. 1 Peter 2:24 “ He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.”  What makes Christianity different from other world religions is that we are not to pay for our sins. The fact is that we cannot. Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Illustration of receiving a message about 30k in my account.

Some things that the cross has done for us- Not just understand it with the mind but your heart, will, emotions, body. 

1. Expiation of our sins - removes sin- “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭103‬:‭12‬ 

2. Propitiation for our sin - removes the wrath of God Romans 5:9 ““Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”

3. Reconciliation with God - removes enmity with God 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….” Illustration of Tamilians and Malayalis

4. Justification - removes the guilt of sin. When a person commits an offence, not only is the offence punished, but the person becomes a criminal. Romans 3:28 “for we hold that one is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law”

5. sanctification (positionally) - removes defilement from sin. This is the result of grace. Romans 3:22 “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe”

6. Transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light - Col 1:13 ”He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” 

7. Redemption / release from our bondage to sin. ““We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭6‬ ‭

Now we see why the cross has become a symbol of the Christian faith. 1 Corinthians 1:23 - 24 - “or Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 

Response - freely you have received, freely give. Illustration of an issue with a colleague. Forgiveness doesn't come naturally to us, but it’s that very nature we must put to death. It was not natural for Jesus to go to the cross - he was sorrowful to the point of sweating drops of blood, but we must, as Jesus did, yield our will to his way. 

2. The truth of his resurrection on the third day - 

Why is it important for us to believe that not only did Jesus die for us but that he rose on the 3rd day? 1 Corinthians 15:14 and 17 “14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain … 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” The victory over death and sin and darkness is evidenced by the resurrection of Jesus. There were many who opposed Jesus and his followers, but what no one could do was produce his body. Michael Eaton “ the stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out, it was to let the witnesses in” 

Not only do we believe that Christ is resurrected but that we are raised with him. When we believe in Jesus we have a new birth. Col 2:12 “ having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.” 

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

Response - Believe and be baptised. Baptism is the immediate expression of faith. There is no magic in the water, but there is power in the proclamation of faith in Jesus. We are baptised into Jesus. It is a symbol that is given to us of believing yourself as dying and being raised with Christ.

3. Believe he is building his church and is coming back again 

1. On this rock, I will build MY church - Whose is the church? Eph 4:11-12 - HE GAVE the apostles…  for the building up the body of Christ. illustration of an architect and masons, etc. Each of us have been “given” by Jesus for building the church. We are compelled by the love of Christ.(2 Cor 5:14) Illustration of Karen travelling across the world to build up the church… Colin and Navaz… 

1. Jesus is not building parachurch organisations - the local church is the hope of the world. Church is the instrument through which he has decided to reveal His manifold wisdom (Eph 3:10). Illustration about the building move being from God. 

2. He is not building churches that are neatly segregated by race, gender, age… we will not have a white church and a brown church, youth church or elderly church, we are building Christ’s church and Christ is not divided - we are one man in Christ. Gal 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

3. There are no spare parts in the body of Christ. If you’re struggling to find your place, be honest and come talk to one of us. We believe in body ministry. That we are a priesthood and no one is exempt from having to get our hands dirty building up the church of Christ. 

Response - Get caught up in what Jesus is doing on the earth and in the church

2. Jesus’ return - Rev 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.” What are we supposed to do in the waiting? the parable of the 10 virgins. Oil can only be bought by developing intimacy with Jesus. It’s our relational currency. The gifts of God are irrevocable, but the anointing flows from intimacy. let us not be found lacking oil when he returns. Let us strive to hear him say well done, good and faithful servant.

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.   

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on April 15th 2022  by Shoma Manesh, Andrew D'Cruz and Navaz D'Cruz via zoom. For the audio & video please click here.  To listen to the worship please click here.

GOOD FRIDAY REFLECTIONS

"Father, forgive them"

Luke 23:34 - Father forgive them for they know not what they do.

Many years back when I was in grade 7, I asked my father why Good Friday is called a Good Friday. My dad explained how Jesus took all our sins on the cross and because of His sacrifice we go to heaven. It didn't make any sense to me at all then.

Few years later when I was in college I was going through a rough phase. I had lot of bitterness and anger towards my friends and family. However, I used to read the Bible a lot. So, I had this attitude that Jesus is with me, and I don't need anyone else.

But one day Jesus took me through some scriptures which says all those who have bitterness and anger will go to hell.  Fear gripped me. Not only because I will go to hell, but also because Jesus is not with me anymore. I started crying and told Jesus 'I am all alone and I don't want to live without You. Please don't leave me.' Immediately I felt His deep love for me and heard His voice for the first time in my life. He said all your sins are forgiven Shoma. I will never ask about your past and you will be there with me in Heaven. What a joy it was to experience His love and His forgiveness! That is when I understood why Good Friday is good.

Jesus took the punishment for all our sins on the cross and we have been forgiven of our sins once and for all. Amen!

In this verse Jesus was interceding for the Roman soldiers and the Jews who persecuted Him. He was not just interceding for people who rejected Him as savior but He was interceding for those who nailed Him on the cross brutally. He created them; He came on earth to sacrifice himself so that the world can be saved from the bondage of sin. But they rejected Him.

What we see in the movie ‘Passion of Christ’ is not even close to what Jesus had to suffer.

Isaiah 53:2 says His face was so disfigured that no one would want to look at His face.

But He forgave them all because He loved them. He showed the perfect love on the cross.

There are two things that we learn from this one verse

1. You are forgiven - We are forgiven because of what Jesus did on the cross. All our sins - past, present, and future sins are forgiven. Now we are right with God forever. We may sin sometimes as our mind is not fully renewed but that doesn't make us a sinner. Our identity always remains the same. We are children of God, and we are the righteous ones.

2. Forgive - He forgave everyone who tortured Him. Let us also forgive and not hold grudges against anyone. Forgive and forget.

Colossians 3:13 NIV

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Always remember...

It was His crucifixion and our salvation.

It was His stripes and our healing.

It was His chastisement and our peace

It was His punishment and our freedom 

We are forgiven so let's forgive

My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?

 
 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Those terrifying words occur in two Gospels — Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 — as Jesus is hanging on the cross near death.
“Jesus seems to have known that the whole of Psalm 22, in some way or other, was about him.”
It says, “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice,”
“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” — the Aramaic form — “that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Matthew 27:46).
Now, one very important fact to remember is that these words are the exact first words of Psalm 22. And that is important because Jesus seems to have known that the whole psalm, in some way or other, was about him.
This is what the psalm says:
 “Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1-2)
So the words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” are part of this psalm that contains, as it were, a script for Jesus’s last hours. Now, why did he say it? And here is a three-part answer.

1.    Truly Abandoned
First, this was a real forsakenness. That is why. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” means he really did. He really did. He is bearing our sin. He bore our judgment.
The judgment was to have God the Father pour out his wrath on Jesus, instead of pouring it out on us. That required total abandonment. God’s righteous anger was poured out on Jesus instead of us. God the Father gave Jesus up to suffer the weight of all the sins of all of his people and the judgment for those sins.
We cannot begin to fathom all that this would mean between the Father and the Son. To be forsaken by God is the cry of the damned, and he was damned for us. So he used these words because there was a real forsakenness. That is the first reason.

2.    According to Plan
All of it was the fulfilment of Scripture — even the worst of it was the fulfilment of Scripture. That moment was probably the worst moment in the history of the world, and it was Scripture-fulfilled.
So he said these words expressing:
1.    There was a real forsakenness for our sake.
2.    He was expressing desolation, not asking for an answer.
3.    He was amazingly fulfilling Scripture in the horror of it all and witnessing to the perfection of the plan of salvation.

IT IS FINISHED

Luke 22

Just before Jesus was arrested, Jesus along with His disciples celebrated the feast of unleavened bread, also called the Passover. Jerusalem was crowded with people who had come to celebrate this feast.

PREPARATION FOR THE PASSOVER

During the Passover, a lamb was sacrificed by each family at the temple. This lamb had to be inspected by the High priest and if He found it without blemish it was an acceptable sacrifice. 

The Passover was a commemoration of God delivering them out of Egypt and freeing them as a nation. On that night in Egypt everyone marked their doorpost with the blood of the lamb as a sign for the angle of death to pass them by. The lamb was then eaten at the meal.

Jesus is the fulfillment of what was done symbolically, and which was a prophetic act – but the world did not understand just as John 1 says. Jesus was creating a New Redemption story with the cross being at the center of the story.

Few things for us to take note of.

1. The High Priest and his counsel condemned and crucified just before the Sabbath when the Passover was celebrated.

Jesus gave up His spirit at the 9^th hour. John and the women were in a hurry to get his body down from the cross and burry it because the sabbath was about to start, which is why they had no time to embalm his body with the spices.

What is significant about the hour of Jesus death? Why is it recorded? It was the same hour with the High Priest enters the temple to sacrifice the spotless lamb he has chosen, an offering for the sins of man not realizing that outside the city naked bruised hanging on a cross is Jesus the true lamb of god shedding his blood going down every part of his body mutilated by the whipping and pain and agony and he gives up his life at 3 p.m. or the 9th hour on that day.

Now darkness covered the earth and there was thunder and an earthquake where the rocks split open, and graves gave up their dead!

While this was happening outside, in the Temple, the thick curtain was split from top to bottom – bring down all barriers between man and God. Jesus’ blood made a way for us to boldly enter the throne room (once hidden behind a thick veil) of grace. We enter now by a new and living way – the blood shed by the Lamb of God and not a physical lamb.

So, when Jesus cried out in a loud voice IT IS FINISHED – he was not saying He is finished. He was declared the work that HE came to do has been completed. (John 4:34 Jesus said he came to finish the work the Father gave him)

The term “It is finished” was a common term used in everyday language which in ancient Greek is “tetelestai”^[1]

It is a term you use when you have finished all your work. It is also a legal term that a Judge would use to announce when somebody had paid their sentence in full. It would be stamped on your Prison sentence – Finished or paid in full.

It is also used as an accounting term – when you paid your taxes – your papers would be stamped “tetelestai”.

What did Jesus Finish?

There are 53 messianic prophesies that were finally fulfilled. There are in total 380 prophecies. Jesus came to fulfill the law and he did is teteletai.  The devil is finished and defeated. It was a triumphant cry. He won the battle over sin, sickness, death and every kind of oppression.

While the high priest and the religious people left Jesus to die in obscurity like a common criminal, God the Father made sure everyone knew about the earthshattering event – He put on a show that no one could deny.

Now going back to the Passover meal. This meal was eaten at Sabbath after the lamb was sacrificed and then it was quickly roasted and was a part of the sabbath meal. 

Notice there is no mention of a lamb at the meal Jesus had with His disciples. Because scholar says and if you observe the chronology of events, they ate it a day before the sabbath when it was not yet time for the lamb to be sacrificed. Also, because Jesus was going to be the sacrificially lamb the next day. That whole meal was symbolic and prophetic – a display of what was to come.

He was creating a new covenant with His blood of grace. He was creating a new community through His blood.

He was restoring communion between us and God the Father as now we can enter God’s presence by a new and a living way made possible because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross.

He introduced 2 new sentences into the ritual every Jew knew by heart.  

He reinterpreted the elements of the bread of affliction and the cup of suffering in Himself, and the focus was no longer on the suffering of Israel in Egypt, but on the sin bearing suffering of Jesus on their behalf.^[2]

The words:” This is my body” is not there in the original ritual. Jesus adds this and about “This is my blood”. I am sure the disciples were puzzled but only later understand the significance of it. Their attention quickly got diverted to who would betray Jesus. Their attention quickly got diverted to who would betray Jesus.

Luke 22:17-20¹⁷ After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸ For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

¹⁹            And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

²⁰            In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.^[a]  

 

So let us never take the communion table for granted. Why communion – it is a place of communion with God ( a New Covenant)and with one another. 

  Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is a part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.