Prisoners of Hope - Part 1

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on November 26th 2023  by Lasya. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

Prisoners of Hope - Zechariah

Reporter at an event - interviews all the witnesses to understand the event. There has been no greater event in the history of mankind than the miraculous birth of Jesus.  Looking back we can say that this was a turning point in history, but in reality, it was the darkest of times and as Isaiah prophesied in Is 9: 2 “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” They were like prisoners who had but a glimpse of hope that they would see the light again. Zechariah, prophesying about the coming messiah, calls them in Zech 9:12 “Prisoners of Hope”. So this Christmas season we will be doing a series called Prisoners of Hope looking at the lives of some key people who were witnesses to the birth of Jesus.

While the other gospels start with the birth of Jesus or the ministry of John the Baptist, Luke takes a step back and starts with the origin story of John the Baptist - the very first witness in the story of the birth of Jesus. 

Luke 1: 5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

The story is rooted in history, during the reign of Herod, who was a puppet king of the Roman empire,  Zechariah was a priest married to Elizabeth. They were considered righteous before God and walked blamelessly - they were faithful to all that was commanded in the scriptures. But they were childless. Faithful yet unfruitful. 

Now Zechariah and Elizabeth lived in a time when the voice of God was silent for over 400 years after the prophet Malachi - it was a time of toxic religion when barrenness would have been attributed to sin. Imagine what this would have done to Zechariah and Elizabeth. Even when they were misunderstood and perhaps despised, they remained faithful. In the middle of it all they lived righteous lives. They probably waited for a long time with eager expectation that God would bless them with a child, but now it’s too late. Through the life of Zechariah lets learn about the God of hope - When hope is heavy, when hope is hurting and when hope is lost, how can we continue to be prisoners of hope? 

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 

This was significant in the life of Zechariah because a Priest would only get to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense once in a lifetime. There were so many of them to serve at the temple that by the time it was your turn again you were most likely dead. Isn't it strange that when it comes to serving in the church today we think of it as a burden rather than a privilege? A lot of this priestly serving in the temple looked very practical - washing vessels, cleaning the altar, sprinkling the blood, etc. Today it may look like serving on sound, putting up curtains, cleaning the bathrooms, but it is still serving the house of God. Now that Jesus made a way for us to enter his presence day or night, because he has become more accessible, let us not assume that he has become common. Everything we use in the context of service to God, becomes set apart. 

AP: Let us reflect on how we view serving here at Word of Grace. Do we see it as an honourable task to the King of Kings or do we think of it as “Oh I will help out when I can” or “ I am helping these people out” 

It is in the course of this service that Zechariah has a supernatural encounter! 

1. The Sting of Hope: 

11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Hope feels very good when we first receive it. When a prophetic word is spoken over you, when you have a dream or a promise from God, it is exciting! But as you keep holding on to it, it starts to sting a little. Pro 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick”. It is not likely that Zechariah was praying for a child when he was burning incense. He must have prayed for it in his 20s, and 30s, he would have really prayed hard in their 40s, it’s the last hope. But now, he’s beyond the point of hope. Have you had promises in your life that have become like that? 

18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 

Hope stings when we give more weightage to our disqualifications over God's qualifications. Zechariah doesn’t realise that the prophetic word that is being spoken over his child is the fulfilment of the very last words of the OT. Malachi 4:5-6 “5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.” 

But Zechariah was too despondent to hear that. His heart was sick. He forgot the promises of God - he forgot about Abraham and Sarah, about Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, he forgot that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was also His God, he is also our God. But hope was not lost because the name Zechariah means God remembers. 

2. The Silence of Hope

19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news (gospel). 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived. 

When we struggle to believe God, sometimes it's just better to be silent. But Silence is a place of reflection, of waiting on God. Zechariah was mute, but he could still do something. He definitely had something to do with Elizabeth’s pregnancy, he must have been helping Lizzie around the house, taking care of her, he probably started pondering the words of the promise in his heart, remembers the promises of old - Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Hannah, remembers the promises of the coming Elijah, the coming messiah and his heart probably started becoming well again in that silence. Even though it looked like a punishment for unbelief, this silence must have served Zechariah well. Throughout the gospels we see Jesus practising this as well- where he would withdraw from the public and go off by himself. 

AP: If you’ve been just going through the motions and finding it difficult to believe the promises of God, can I encourage you to find time to meditate on the word of God in silence? 

But I think there would've also been frustration. Mary, after receiving the good news from Gabriel, comes to visit Elizabeth. Then Elizabeth blesses Mary, Mary sings a song of praise… while the women are doing all this, imagine Zechariah, quietly in a corner, unable to speak, unable to give thanks to God for this miracle, unable to share the good news of the coming Messiah! 

Today, we too have good news that is preached to us, we know the messiah has come, we know that we are saved by the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross, and we have the words of eternal life and yet we choose to be mute. There is no angel from heaven that has caused that but we can become prisoners of our choices. It’s not that God’s promises are hindered, but our enjoyment of it can be. 

AP: This Christmas season, can we be more intentional to be vocal about the good news of Jesus Christ? Invite your friends and neighbours to the Christmas carol evenings, lets share the good news that we have been so privileged to receive.     

3. The Song of Hope

Elizabeth delivers a child. On the 8th day, he is circumcised when he is to be named. This is when all the neighbours and relatives poke their noses and ask, what's his name? Elizabeth says, John. But they say, no one in your family is called that… i.e. it is weird. So they say, what does she know? Let us ask Zechariah. He writes it out on a tablet and says, his name is John. The minute this happens, he can speak again and he starts praising God! 

Luke 1: 67-79 - “And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

This is a completely different man from the one who encountered the angel Gabriel. This is a man whose hope has been revived!  He is not simply thanking God for giving him a son, he is filled with hope for all the promises of God. he is speaking into the future! He is remembering the promises of God right from the time of Abraham and he is releasing a blessing upon his son and upon all God's people. The song of Hope, reminds us of God's promises, revives our soul and restores our faith. We need songs of hope- we need to take hold of the promises of God, and push it forward. 

Zechariah - a prophetic picture of the nation of Israel 

Like Zechariah, the nation of Israel was waiting for the coming messiah for so long that when he appeared, their hearts were too hardened and hopeless to receive him. In fact till date there are so many of them who are unable to believe the good news of the messiah because they are carrying the sting of hope. 

Just as God was silent for 400 years until the things that he promised came to be, Zechariah was silent until the birth and naming of his son. But this silence did not mean that God was not doing anything. He was birthing the promises (over 300 prophecies of the OT came to pass in Jesus - in the fullness of time), he was working in the waiting. 

As Zechariah spoke and gave hope to people, Jesus the word himself became flesh and the living hope to all mankind. He is the inexhaustible supply of songs of hope. 

Today as we have surveyed the life of Zechariah, let us take a moment to reflect on our own hearts and our hope. Are you suffering with the sting of hope that has hardened a part of your heart? Have you silenced your hope because of the fear of rejection, or doubt? Do you have some songs of hope to release that you are unsure about? 

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.   

Chosen - A People Kept in God's Love

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on February 26th 2023  by Navaz. For the audio & video please click here. To listen to the worship please click here.

 CHOSEN - A People Kept in the Love of God

 INTRODUCTION

We have looked at a commonly preached topic the last two Sundays but from a different angle. We looked at how we are a unique people set apart for the glory of God. You are a chosen people a royal priesthood –a Holy Nation.

And herein lies the problem. The Church/the chosen people are slowly getting diluted and beginning to look like everyone else. We are chosen to be image bearers, glory bearers, a light to the world, the culture and world changers.

When we forget the creator and the WHY of why we have been created we forget the purpose and intent of our design.

E.g.: using a fridge as a cupboard. 

The root of the problem is the heart- We have lived compromised lives. We looked at some of the idols of the heart.

Feel Good – give into every sensual pleasure because we do not trust God to meet our needs the legitimate way.

Look Good – We hide, lie, cover up and live in deception and deceit because keeping up appearances is more important than living with integrity before God and man Eg) Ananias and Sapphira. King Saul. People pleasing is a big one here.

Be Right – Because of poor identity, we cannot accept a mistake, or a fault so we lie, cheat, cover-up, and play the blame game rather than take responsibility for our actions.

Be in control – Will not submit to authority, will question decisions, and be your own person for fear of losing control.

We then asked ourselves how we get out of this mess.

Two things that will keep us from having idols of the heart are The Fear of the Lord and the Love of God. Both are needed.

KEPT IN THE LOVE OF GOD

Today we are going to look at being kept in the Love of God: who does this and how?

Jude 21: keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Jude 1:24-25

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— ²⁵ to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore!

Jude was encouraging the Christians to contend for their faith amidst ungodliness and faithlessness. People were drifting away from the truth.

The chief danger that confronts the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, heaven without hell.” ― William Booth

The greatest battle you may fight is the fight of perseverance. Jesus says in Revelations 3:21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.

What is a doxology?

A Doxology is a short hymn of praise to remind us to lift our eyes to God. Jude ends his message to the church with this.

But before this in verse 21:  

Keep: to watch over, to guard.

Keep is an active verb. We must do something. Keep and keep on keeping yourself in the love of God.

Keep: Why and what? - Because the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. (1Pet 5:8)

 Agape love: not any other love. Not any other affections or your old boyfriends. Keep yourself in agape – the unconditional, never-ending, never-failing love of God.

We must keep ourselves – because it is easy to get distracted by other loves. What can we lose? We can lose the joy and fruit of abiding in Jesus and that is a terrible thing.

The Christian life is an amazing life with the opportunity to lay hold of the promises of God. There is something we must do.

All the promises in Jesus are YES and AMEN BUT a lot of the promises are conditional. If you abide by His word the promises will prove true in your life. You might argue with that and says it’s not fair!!!  What is fair is that we pay for our sins.

Everything we have and enjoy is the sheer MERCY & GRACE of God. There are conditional promises in the Old Testament and the New Testament (a total of over 8000).

Jesus says If you love me you will obey my commandments. If any man will take up his cross and come after me. There are many such “Ifs” in the Bible. The curse is self-inflicted - God is not going to violate His character for your sake. If you live in disobedience, you will reap the fruit of that – that is a curse and not a blessing.

1. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9 (NIV)

2. "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." - Matthew 21:22 (NIV)

3. "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." - John 7:37 (NIV)

Modern Christianity is preaching another Jesus, another gospel (where heaven, hell and sin are not mentioned) and this is what Jude was warning the people about 2000 years ago!!

“Now unto to him who is able to keep you from falling.”

Keep to guard, watch.

This passage tells us who is worthy of praise and what qualifies Him for this praise.

It is like saying I have put Mr. X in charge of your protection. Now, why should you trust Mr. X. When you know Mr. X’s credentials you will gain confidence to trust him. If I told you he is part of India's elite Blackcats, the best hand-to-hand combatant and marksman, you will have full confidence in his ability to protect you.

You may say so it is my effort that keeps me in God’s love. Not at all. The only reason you are standing is that HE has kept you from falling

So, does that mean you sit back and relax? No, refer to Jude 21. Here you see two truths in tension working together. No, we work out our salvation with fear and trembling and recognize that it is God’s power that is the fuel behind our efforts.

“present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy…”

Without fault or Blameless – without blemish. Anyone born after Adam was automatically blemished. We have all fallen short of the glory of God therefore how can we be presented to God? Jesus the ultimate sacrifice, the unblemished lamb died in the place of blemished people. You are now clothed in His righteousness. God did a prophetic act with Adam and Eve, A symbolic act with the Levitical priests clothing and then the actual act of Jesus shedding His blood and covering us with His righteousness.

We are the apple of His eye. God delights over us.

 TO THE ONLY GOD OUR SAVIOR

To what kind of God are we being presented? The ONLY GOD!! At the time Jude was writing his letter to Jews that had come to faith there were two dangers that the church was facing: The grace of God was being changed into a license for immorality (v4)

License or liberalism says you are free to sin because Jesus has forgiven all your sins.

Legalism -The Galatian church needed to be reminded of the freedom for which Christ had set them free: they were in danger of legalism which says, “you should not...”

Freedom in Christ or Grace says you are free not to sin anymore because you are no longer a slave to sin, it shall not have dominion over you.

The second danger that was already doing the rounds is the thought that Jesus is not the only way. The incarnation and deity of Jesus were already being challenged. And Jude is telling them to contend for the faith.

ONLY GOD – there is none like Him.

No one can be compared to Him. Unbelief makes you believe that He is one of the many gods out there. That is what idolatry is

So sexual sin is not just based on lust but because they want comfort, and they believe this sin will give them the comfort they desire. (the feel-good idol) Only God!!

OUR SAVIOR  

We have been saved from the wrath of God. Salvation is found in no other name other than the name Jesus. This is a foundational doctrine of the Christian faith. You are free to believe in anything else but that would not be the Christian faith.

OUR

Yes, He saved you, but he also saved the US. Don’t forget this communal nature of our faith. One of the ways you can look like God is when you are in a community.

BE GLORY

God’s glory is revealed when sons and daughters of God walk in the light and reflect His light and Christlikeness.

Our natural tendency is to take the glory for ourselves. But we now want to give God glory as a miracle of a changed heart.

Majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord,

V25 – God is majestic and, ruler and king over everything. While the world may seem out of control, we do have a king that is completely in control. He is always reigning.

Dominion/power– speaks of the extent of His power which is over everything.

Authority speaks of his sovereign rule over all things and legitimate power. Because all power and authority belong to Jesus, we are kept from falling. John 17 Jesus prayed that non would be plucked from His hand.

So, it is He who will keep us from falling and we need to keep ourselves in the love of God.

 We will do well to submit to His majesty, dominion, and power. Many people in the church do not want to live under the authority. This idol of the heart is the need to be in control and self-will. Also, they do not believe that God is good. When your view of God is of your view of submission is off.

Now and Forever

Jude gives a time frame for the praise. How long? He is the one deserving of praise now and forever. It is an eternity perspective.

Amen – yes or so be it. It means that we can be certain it will happen.

CONCLUSION

We have been meditating on a very sober topic for three weeks.

It is easy to take the milk of the word that soothes and ignore the meat of the word that provokes change. - (Bill Johnson)

We said you need two things in your life to keep you from falling back into old ways of doing things: The Fear of the Lord and the Love of God. Two sides of the coin, bookends if you like – that keep us together and strong till the end.

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.  

The Lesser Known Jesus - Part 1

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on November 20th 2022  by Lasya. For the audio & video please click here. 

Jesus is famous. In all history, philosophy, religion etc., he is well known. But do you feel sometimes that we are all too familiar with him the way we might be familiar with a movie star? We are entering the season of advent when we sing songs that are familiar, cook food that is reminiscent of our childhood and recreate memories that are nostalgic. In all that family magic, we can think of Jesus as just another decoration, an adornment. He is well-known but the question is how well we know him. 

We generally do this during worship, but let me ask you - who is Jesus to you? 

We are beginning a new series in this advent season to get to know the nature of Jesus better. We will be picking up on the names and traits of Jesus that are not as well-known or discussed. The series will be called “the lesser known Jesus” and today we will look at getting to know Jesus the High Priest, the Mediator and the Advocate. 

All three of these characteristics are Jesus as an intermediary between God and Man. 

1. High priest 

In the Old Testament, the High Priest was the Levite whose job was to make the sacrifice for the people of Israel on the Day of Atonement. The High Priest would first atone for his own sin and then for the sins of the people. It was supposed to be a life sacrificed to be an intercessor. But it had become political and the High Priest was viewed as a governor or leader of the Jewish people. 

Heb starts with talking about an ever greater king, the supremacy of Christ but then it goes into this hierarchical structure between humans and angels and God. Then it talks about how Jesus broke that hierarchy and came down to earth and explains why…  

Heb 2:9-11; 17 - 18 “But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.….17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” The miracle of Christmas is not the baby being born in a manger, but that the king of heaven, set aside his divinity to descend and become a merciful and faithful high priest. 

The word propitiation is very important - it means to appease/ satisfy the wrath of God. Another word for it is conciliation which is where we get the word to reconcile from. Propitiation does not procure his love or make him loving, it only renders it consistent (with his character) for him to exercise his love towards sinners. Because the wrath of God was satisfied on the cross, he is able to turn towards us in love and mercy. 

Q. How was Jesus different from the High Priests who came before him?

• He doesn’t have to atone for his own sins 

• He is merciful - he is able to sympathize with our weakness because he was tempted in every way. 

• He is faithful - 1 Samuel 2: 35 “And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind.” The Bible also says that he is faithful in all of God’s house.  

Q. So how does this role of Jesus as our high priest affect us? 

Heb 4: 14-16 “14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

1. Hold fast our confession

2. Draw near to the throne of grace with confidence 

3. Enter the rest ( Heb 3 and 4) 

2. Mediator

There are 3 places in the NT that refer to Jesus as the Mediator. 1 Tim 2:5 “ For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”

The High Priest makes a way for us to enter, but the Mediator makes a place for us at the table. 

Q. Why is Jesus the mediator?

Hebrews 9: 11-12; 15 - “11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption…. 15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant”  

So what does the mediator do? He makes sure that you receive the covenant promises. This is different from every other world religion because the mediator (a guru, sadhu, whoever) will make sure that they take from you what you need to give away. But Jesus the mediator is giving us what is due to us in the covenant - forgiveness, grace, mercy, blessing, and the power of the holy spirit… that’s what his death achieved for us. That is why in 1 Tim Paul says, there is only one mediator. Nothing else stands between us - no religious leader, no saint, no pilgrimage/ building. There is no other way to God except through Jesus. Jesus is the perfect mediator - the perfect elder brother who gave up all his rights so that could have all of his blessings. 

3.  Advocate 

1 John 2:1 “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”

There are 2 reasons why we need an advocate:

1. Because we sin. 

If there is no sin there is no need for an advocate. But we are saints who are being sanctified. So we need the help of an advocate.

2. Because we have an accuser: If we sin and nobody saw it, did we sin? But with God, not only does he see everything, but so does the devil. 

Rev 12:10 “And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.”

His destiny is to be thrown down, but until the fullness of time, he stands before the throne of God accusing us. 

Advocacy in the Jewish court - not adversarial but inquisitorial. There is no lawyer standing between the accused and the judge. The Judge himself helps the one standing before him if he sees that he is unable to defend himself. 

Romans 8: 33- 34 “33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

So when we sin and come before God the Judge, even if we are not aware of our covenantal promises and blessings, Jesus the advocate steps in and pleads our case. Jesus is our compassionate advocate, who is also the judge. 

Q. Does that mean we go on sinning? (Romans 6) No. Remember Jesus is a compassionate advocate but he never condones sin. 

 John 8: 3-11 “3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”” We can no longer go on sinning because it’s no longer our nature once we’ve encountered Christ. 

How shall we respond to the High Priest who makes way for us, the mediator who makes a place for us at the table and the advocate who makes a case in our defence?

Heb 10: 22- 25 has 3 let us statements and this is the response:

“22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

The passage ends by saying “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” 

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.