WordOfGraceChurch

Monday, November 8, 2021

We All Need A Mountaintop Experience

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on Nov 7th 2021 by Colin via zoom.
For the audio & video please click here. To listen to the worship please click here.

We All Need A Mountain Top Experience.

Facing challenges and trials

I'm going to share about increasing our faith in God and praying for things to happen. Our lives are like the swinging of a pendulum.We swing from peace, where everything is good,to the time of crisis, where we have a bad, maybe have a troubled situation.All of us have challenges and trials .And we need to know, how do we push through these things.

Now, we're going to look at an account in Mark chapter 9, where Jesus and his disciples have an encounter with a man who has a son, who is troubled or possesed by a demon. It's a familiar story. We're going to look at Mark 9, and I am also going to refer to the beginning of Mark chapter 9,where Jesus goes on to the Mount of transfiguration.

Mark 9: 2-7

After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

So, this is the Mount of Transfiguration. They go up to the mountain and the most amazing thing happens. Jesus is transfigured. The word transfigured is the same word metamorphosis and we know what that means. Metamorphosis, where pupa turns into a beautiful butterfly. Jesus was human, frail and weak in his humanity, but suddenly there, he was transfigured and His glory was revealed again. And that's what happened. Not only was Jesus transformed, but there came, Moses and Elijah. Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets.All of them came and they were with with Peter and James, and John, and Jesus and they could recognise them.

There is another account of the Transfiguration in the gospel of Matthew. Mark 9 says that Peter didn't know what he was saying and he was also frightened.

Verse 5 onwards

Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!

Wow..What an experience to have. That was a wonderful time on the Mount of transfiguration and what I'd like to draw from this thing is each of us must seek such a Mountaintop experience. If you look through the Bible, you will see that many times. When Christians or Jews went up to the mountain, they had a revelation of who God was. Mountains in the Bible are associated with the revelation of God.

So we have Jesus and the disciples here of this Mountaintop experience. We have Moses who went up the mountain. Remember Mount Sinai and encountered God and God gave the Ten Commandments. He saw the glory of God. He was transformed. Then you have Elijah on mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal and all that happened there again. He encountered the power of God and he came down transformed. So what I'd like to say to us is this : You also need to seek out in your Christian Life for a Mountaintop experience.

You don't because we are so busy throughout the day and the week, 24 by 7. We've got this cellphone beeping. We've got messages coming in. We've got things to do.We are so distracted, from taking a break from the routine and the other mundane things of life or just going alone and being with God. We want to see his glory and we want to hear his voice. That's what happened to the disciples.

So here's an application for us. Seek a Mountaintop experience where you can be alone with God where you can cut off from the routine of life. It may be taking a couple of days off alone. It may be a day off. Maybe half a day, maybe a couple of hours, but you are just putting away all distractions saying, Lord. I want to see you. I want to see your glory. I want an encounter with you. I want to hear your voice. Can you imagine the transformation that must have taken place to Peter James and John. What gave them the strength to hold on to Jesus to the end.

This way, they saw the goodness and the glory of God and they heard the voice of God. Nothing could shake them . What's sad is, so many people have ceased even coming to Sunday meeting online. Some people may have genuine reasons but there are many others who just don't attend and I think one of the reasons is they've not got the biggest glimpse of who Jesus is ,His greatness and His glory. And when we see that, that will transform Our Lives.

I remember for myself, one of the other places when you get this Mountaintop experience is when we go off to conferences, Christian conferences or camps or meetings where suddenly we encounter God in the worship or in the word. So I want to encourage you, take every opportunity to get ahold of going to such meetings.

I remember many years ago I attended a meeting with Terry Virgo who started New Frontiers and this happened in Mumbai. His preaching and teaching was amazing. At the end of the word there was a call for commitment saying, are you willing to give up and serve God, follow him? I remember God speaking and I responded to that. I would encourage you to seek God. For a Mountaintop experience -Lord I want to just be with you.

Everything is glorious on the Mountaintop. But when you come down to the plains, what do you see? We see somebody demon-possessed. We see squabbling and fighting between the scribes and the disciples. We see, lack of faith and distress, and we see disciples were unable to overcome the power of Satan and unable to give relief to a father and a son.

Mark 9 :14 onwards

When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

What is Jesus's answer to that?

Verse 19

You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

Can you imagine? Jesus is not comforting them. He is rebuking, specially the disciples. There's something to learn from that.

Whatever situation you're facing in order to reach that level to cast that Demon, to overcome that situation- We need to increase that level of prayer. Are you willing to pay the price or rathe Pray The Prize to see that breakthrough in your situation.Whatever the situations, you know, we've got to believe what Jesus said. It's possible for him, who believes. That means, me getting a marriage partner, mine being healed of my sickness, my breakthrough in my job or my finances, salvation of my husband, or my children is possible, for those who believe.

I need to do my bit by pushing through, because Jesus says it in Matthew chapter 17:19

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

We began the first song this morning singing," if faith can move the mountains".

Jesus says If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain move from here to there and you will nothing will be impossible for you. So friends, this is what I want to encourage you. God wants us to be mountain-moving, Christians. That's the call upon our liives.It won't just happen. We've got a play. We're going to grow our faith muscles. We have to grow in our faith and we have to grow in our prayers.

Now, Peter and John took this to heart and that's what they did. And in Acts chapter 5 verse 12 we see that the apostles perform many miracles signs and wonders among the people. That's what they did. In Acts chapter 3, Peter and John healed, a man who was crippled from birth. How do we do all these things? Because they took to heart what Jesus said and they said yes will grow in our faith will grow in our prayer.And when they did it and they were able to do mighty, mighty things. Let's bring all this to close this morning. Number one is : let's seek out those Mountaintop experiences. Put the phone off. Close the door, go somewhere, but just be quiet with God where you want to be seeing the glory of Jesus, hearing the voice of God. That is what will energize us to go on.

Secondly, what we need to do is we are going to face difficult situations. Let's just face it. If you need peace and freedom from sin and sickness and death, that will only happen when we go to heaven.But right now that we have a job to do, it's not to just exist but it's to stop the kingdom of darkness from spreading and to destroy the works of the enemy.

How can we do that?

1) We've got to grow our faith. Believe that with Jesus, everything is possible for those who believe. Wow. This is what is impossible with man is possible with God.So when we face every situation, let's attack it with faith and prayer. Jesus wants us to increase our faith.

3) The way we increase our faith.

Continue reading the word and memorizing the word and seeing the things that are there that will fit into our lives.

There are couple of more interesting things in Mark chapter 9, at the end of the chapter, that could have been possibly things that restricted their faith.

Mark 9:33-35

33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

The disciples had some character flaws.We also have and we got to work on this a lot. I don't want to seek for my glory, my fame. You're not competing with one another using Lord. Jesus said if anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last and the servant of all.

There's another reason. Verse 38

38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us.

So first realize, there are many Christians and we're not in competition with them. We are all together in Jesus. We need to develop our character. To be greatest in God's kingdom, just be the servant. I just want us to make a commitment to the Lord today. I want to grow in faith and as we work together, we can pray and we can see mountains remove and cast into the sea. We can see that happen, but it needs to be all of us praying and working together. It's not Jesus. Who needs to change. We need to change.

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.

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Confidence In Christ

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on Oct 31st 2021 by Christy Thomas via zoom.
.This is the debut preach of Christy Thomas. We at Word of Grace, believe in discovering, developing and deploying people in their gifts. We are encouraged by the number of trainees who are growing strong the living and preaching the Word.

For the audio & video please click here. To listen to the worship please click here.

When I asked Colin what I should preach on, He asked me what my life verse was?

So, today, we will be looking at Phil 1: 1-11, and I have titled my message “Being confident in Christ”.

Introduction: Before we can get into the text, let's take some time to understand the background of this letter.

Where do you think Paul was when he wrote this letter to the Philippians?

Paul writes the letter to the Christians in Philippi during his Roman house arrest which is described in Act 28:30-31 NKJV - 30

When did Paul start the church in Philippi?

Paul founded the church in Philippi 11 years before this letter to the Philippians.

What was Philippi know for?

Philippi was “the place where the armies of Mark Antony and Octavian defeated Brutus and Cassius in the decisive battle of the second Roman civil war in 42 B.C.” (Hughes) Because of this, many Roman soldiers retired in the area, and Philippi was proud of its Roman connection.

How did this church start? Acts 16:13-40

Through Lydia, God opened the door to a church plant in Philippi. This is how the first church was established in the continent of Europe.

Do you find anything strange in verse 13? Why do you think they met at the riverside?

It was because there were too few Jews and they did not have a synagogue to assemble. But that did not keep them from coming together in prayer!

Amazing, what an example to set isn’t it?

We too have so many opportunities to grow in our faithfulness to pray and intercede. We have the 24x7 prayer chain, we have 3 days prayer and fasting. So, lets be like these faithful men and women and take every opportunity set before us to pray and intercede.

Let’s be a people and a church who continue steadfastly in prayer.

This is the background to this letter to the Philippians.

Phil 1:1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

1. Being confident of our identity in Christ: Paul opens the letter by addressing all the believers as saints. That is our identity too, when we have put our faith in Christ Jesus as the one and true God, we become His saints. 1 Peter 2:9 says 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Our actions didn’t make us saints. But Christ’s actions did. He deposited His righteousness into us when we put our faith in Him. In the traditional churches, only certain people could be elevated the position of a if they met certain criteria. But the bible calls each and everyone of us as saints!

Let’s be clear here, our identity is that we are saints when we have placed our faith in Christ. But the reality is that we do sin, and that process of becoming perfect as He is perfect is called sanctification. This will be completed only at His second coming!

How do we apply this to our lives?

We don’t have to look down upon ourselves! We are saints in Christ! A few Sudays ago, Colin reminded us that we were created a little lower than the angels! Science and the world want us to believe that we are only a little above the animals, but the Bible says that God sees believers as saints!

Phil 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Being confidence of our peace in Christ: Right at the outset of the letter, Paul gives them his greeting of grace and peace that comes from the Father through His son Jesus. We need to recognize this too, that we can have grace and peace only in Christ Jesus. All worldly substitutes that offer these are just counterfeits that will give way in due time!

Are there areas in our lives where we need His peace in our lives?

Let’s remember to surrender those areas to God, be thankful to Him for His blessings and receive His peace which surpasses all understanding!

Phil 1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,

Paul is very grateful for the Philippians because they have very generously supported his ministry even during their own time of lack:

Like the Philippian church, we too at WoG church have been reaching out to people in need, through the JoG. We have impacted 6 pastors and their families, many widows and families! So, if there are any who are yet to join the JoG, let’s do so now!

Are we placing our confidence in Christ for our finances?

This confidence is shown when we are faithful in bringing our tithes and offering to God.

And when he remembers the Philippians in prayer, it is joy that fills him. Amazing that he should be filled with joy considering he is writing from prison! During one of our GYM meetings, one of my GYM members mentioned that they maintain a testimony journal! The book has become so big over the years. It is a reminder of how faithful God is! So, Esther and I also have embarked on the same journey to maintain a testimony journal! In this fast-paced world, we need to take time to write down those things where God has intervened in our lives. And as we go through the list, joy will fill our hearts. Paul was not just happy because they supported him financially, but because they partnered with him in spreading the gospel from the start!

How are we partnering with WoG church to spread the gospel?

We have so many opportunities to invite people to our services on Friendship Sunday, Christmas, Easter. I pray that each of us would go out of our way to invite people to these services. We never know whose heart God would open to receive His gospel!

This brings us to the text for today!

Phil 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

This scripture became my life verse in in June, 2015. I was in a real mess in my career. I had graduated in 2012 and started working the same year. But I was so confused and spoilt that I ended up quitting my first job in 13 months. After being born-again in October, 2009 I lost track. It was in 2014 that I made a covenant with God-it was going to be only Jesus from then on! I placed my confidence in Christ alone. I cleared the exam for Vellore Institute of technology and on the morning of the interview this verse was my morning meditation. For the rest of the day, I kept repeating this verse in my mind continuously! Instead of dwelling on how I gave the interview, I kept repeating this verse to my self. When the results for the interview was announced, I came first! This was the first time I had come out first in anything I attempted! I learned the power of holding on to scripture and placing my confidence in Him!

3. We need to place our confidence in the God who completes what He begins! Which is called the process of sanctification.

Phil 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

This one scripture talks about 3 fundamental doctrines in the Bible:

1. Salvation: the good work that He began in us

2. Sanctification: the process He is doing in us to become Holy like He is.

3. Glorification: When God perfects us at the second coming of Christ.

What is this good work that God did and when did he start the good work in you and I?

What is this good work that God did?

The good work He did in our lives is when He orchestrated our lives to bring us to that point where we received Him as Lord and savior.

Jn 6:29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.”

I was born again during a youth camp in October, 2009. I didn’t become perfect on the day I was born-again. But God started a process. Today, I have grown so much in my walk with God than when I started out in 2009! That was how my journey started! That’s how God started His good work in me.

When did he start the good work in you and I?

Ep 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

So, you see, even before the world was created, He knew that you and I were created to be His children.

Charles Spurgeon says it this way, “The work of grace has its root in the divine goodness of the Father, it is planted by the self-denying goodness of the Son, and it is daily watered by the goodness of the Holy Spirit; it springs from good and leads to good, and so is altogether good.”

So, is being born-again the start or the end of our Christian journey?

It’s just the start!

The end of our Christian journey is the second coming of Christ when we will be perfected!

Between the start and the end, what are we called to do?

In 1 Corinthians 15: 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Phil 1: 7

From these two scriptures, we get a glimpse of God wants us to live out our lives between the start and the end:

Are we longing for fellowship?

Psalm 133: 1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Are we longing to have fellowship in our GYM’s?

We are so blessed that we can at least meet virtually. I remember once I met a customer at work who shared that ever since the pandemic hit, the church he went to completely stopped house fellowships. Their Sunday service was just a one-sided conversation!

Are we calling up people to stay in connection with them, to encourage people when they are not keeping well?

Has our love for each other grown?

Are we walking the extra mile to provide food for those who are sick and suffering in our midst? We have so many opportunities to reach out to those in need in our church.

I encourage each of us to show our love for each other, especially in times of need!

Another thing we need to do between the start and the finish is give up sin habits!

Are we continuing in the same sin habits we were in before we were born again? Have we picked up new sin habits after our conversion?

James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

It’s good to have a close circle of friends in church whom we can be accountable to. It will help break sin habits as we pray for one another!

Are we bearing fruits of righteousness?

Rm 12:9- 21 gives us a list of things we need to do as a Christian: loving one-another, to abhor evil, ministering to those in need, to repay evil with love, etc.

This brings us to the last question, when will the good work he began be completed? Or glorification.

Paul reminds the believers that the good work God began would be completed on the day of the Lord, referring to Jesus’ second coming. And the way Paul used the phrase was to show that Jesus’ second coming was at hand and not some day in the distant future.

1 Cor 1:8

II Thess 5:5

The only thing the Bible is clear about Jesus’ second coming is that even the son doesn’t know when that day is.

Mark 13: 32

So, in conclusion lets remember to put our confidence in Christ for our identity, our peace and our sanctification!

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Let's Make History Together

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on Oct 24th 2021 by Nigel P via zoom. For the audio & video please click here. To listen to the worship please click here.

We are going to look into the book of Jeremiah, chapter 1 and focus on the words, "Word of the Lord came."

Jeremiah 1:1-3 ESV - The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, ²to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. ³It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

In these verses, we see the following -

Word of the Lord came
It came also

Why does the Word of God come?
When does it come?

Jeremiah 1:2 ESV - ²to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

In the days of Josiah, 13th year of his reign, days of Jehoiakim, until the end of the 11th year of Zedekiah, until the carrying away

We see that it came 4 times again and again. It came at the "Now Moment".

We live by written Word. At times, the Word comes to us at "Now Moment".

We've been in the pandemic for so long that some started wondering where God is. Some have become comfortable. There's so much happening - trials in families, churches, we got a shock in the beginning.

God has plans. Spirit of God helps us move forward. We pick up something from the Word of Jeremiah.

Why does the Word come? And to whom?

Though the Word had come to Jeremiah, it was for God's people to warn them of the captivity. God's "Now Word" comes because they are God's people. He wants them to be restored. The "Now Word" has the potential to quicken them. When it comes, it has power.

In Bible, when Moses died, Joshua received the Word at the "Now Moment". As God's people, we can be prone to give up or sin and ignore God's call on us.
As a church, we need to think. Do we have a purpose? I believe God has a Word for us.

The "Now Word" is always a part of "Always Word"

Jeremiah 1:4-5 ESV –

The Call of Jeremiah

⁴Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

We begin to see the "Now Word" comes to Jeremiah. It's always in context of God's people. What God says is "always".

1. Prophet to nations, ordained for the nations

God gave a promise in the garden of Eden. He promised a seed which is Jesus, that would effect the nations. It started right at the beginning. In Genesis 12, Abraham was called the Father of Nations. Now after 1500 years, Jeremiah got that same Word. It came as "Now Word". It's not new. It has always been there.
Who are you? You, I, the church. You are ordained. The church is for the nations. We are not to be survivors but influencers. Hey Church! Wake up! God has ordained you.

Though the pandemic is not over, God wants you to pick up something. Something about the church is going to change. What are we doing about our neighbours, colleagues, friends etc. God is reminding us that we are ordained.
So, God's first reminder to us is that we are ordained for the nations to bring life, hope to the people in the city.

2. Formed... Known by God

Jeremiah is about to be called prophet to the nations. To him, God says, "I formed you, chose you, picked you for a purpose.
Once I heard a prophetic song which I still remember. It goes like this - I know you, you know me, let's make history together.
God is reminding us like Jeremiah - " I chose you to make history"

1 Peter 2:9 ESV - But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

The word "formed" is very important.

In the most powerful nation, Egypt, the Israelites were formed as a nation out of slavery. How can that be? It is only possible through God. Not just formed them, but God also delivered them and made them leave with gold, silver and many other riches.
We must understand that God's people just can't come into existence. God forms people. Word of Grace church didn't come into existence but God formed you.

When you read Psalm 139, you will know that each of you was formed for a unique role to play.

The word "knew" - long before you existed, I knew you Jeremiah.
What does that even mean?

It is an element of God knowing us intimately and choosing us to have a relationship with us. Your DNA is changed. It is of God's DNA.
He knows how to shape us. In some versions of the Bible, it is written as "Adam lay with Eve" This is about the intimate sexual relationship. In some other version, it is written as "Adam knew Eve".
So, knowing is a very deep and intimate thing. It is not just for purpose but to be known inside out.
There is something different about Christians. God knows us. And we must know Him. Know that He loves us and knows every flaw of ours.
Though Peter denies Jesus, He reinstates him.
God knows you. He wants to make history along with you.

3. Set you apart

Jeremiah 1:5c - before you were born I consecrated you;

I have set you apart before you were born. He sanctified you. Set apart for not anything else but for God's purpose.
Church, you are set apart. You may come and love this church but not just that. Every member of the church, every believer is set apart for God, for nations and for people around us.
We need to relate to people with reference to God. Saying sorry to people, being angry or taking revenge, everything must be in reference to God.
Many people don't like to consistently move ahead. The "Now Word" is for greater numbers and for greater fruitfulness. In Acts, the believers met everyday and broke bread together everyday. God wants us to get back on track because -

He has ordained you, ordained for nations - your neighbors, colleagues, friends

He formed you and knew you

He set you apart for His purpose - for nations, people around you

Monday, October 18, 2021

Creating A Counterculture Part 5

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on Oct 17th 2021 byNavaz D via zoom. For the audio & video please click here. To listen to the worship please click here.

CREATING A COUNTERCULTURE – PART 5.

CREATING A COUNTERCULTURE – PART 5

1. INTRODUCTION

Over the last few weeks, we have been looking at how Jesus came to usher in the Father's Kingdom- an upside, inside out Kingdom Jesus came to establish a spiritual kingdom not of this world and which is eternal.

Jesus was describing how a true disciple or citizen of the Kingdom should live. The Jews had encountered and experienced cold, cruel religion that was ritualistic. It fulfilled the letter of the law, but it was cold and heartless. Through this sermon, he is showing them how the law really needs to be interpreted and applied.

Here is a caution I would like to add as we listen to God's word this morning. Jesus ends his sermon with a parable of two men; one who built on sand and one who built on the Rock. Sand is the religious ritualistic approach where we like our ears to be tickled with information but makes no transformational impact. The one who builds on Rock is like a true citizen of the Kingdom where it is transformation inside out. My prayer is we will not merely be hearers of the WORD but allow Him to rearrange our hearts, minds, and actions.

SUMMARY

Jesus starts with the foundational core beliefs, which are these:

Unless you see yourself as insufficient, poor, and depraved spiritually, you will never in humility to God nor acknowledge your need of a Saviour. When we encounter our human depravity, we need to mourn our sinful state so that we may know God's pardon and comfort. Godly sorrow or mourning leads to true repentance, i.e., heart conviction that leads to behavioural transformation. This requires meekness – surrender to God because you know that you can do nothing apart from Jesus. From this place of dependence and surrender, we will seek, hunger and thirst for His Kingdom and righteous rule first and above all else. And He promises that all this and more shall be added to us.

Today we are going to look at the next beatitude. Probably one of the most difficult to put into practice.

2.BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY SHALL OBTAIN MERCY. MATT 5:7

Blessed or happy- Everybody is in pursuit of happiness. Is it wrong? No. Here is what Jesus is saying: you want to be happy? Then this is how you will find true happiness. Happiness is a by-product of the kingdom lifestyle.

Happiness is found in being poor of spirit, mourning, meekness and hungering after righteousness.

Today people are in the pursuit of happiness. They feel it's in the accumulation of wealth, things, and a certain lifestyle that they will be happy. This is the great deception. Depression has been on the rise despite this. This great deception is leading to greatest depression of all time.

As Christ-followers the secret of the Kingdom has been given to us. We need to be the happiest people on earth because Jesus has shown us how.

The true pursuit of happiness will drive us into the presence of Jesus. He said if we abide in Him our Joy will be made complete

BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL:

Keep in mind that Jesus is addressing his followers. If you are in the Kingdom of God, you have already obtained mercy. You can only enter the Kingdom of God if you seek God's mercy.

The mercy seat is the starting place. We all come to God and receive pardon because of His rich mercy.

Mercy is at the heartbeat of God. Were that not the case God would not have made a way for His people to obtain forgiveness. We can look at all the animal sacrifices in the OT and think God was so harsh. Quite the opposite. He was providing them with a way out until the fullness of time when He sent Jesus to die and be that sacrificial lamb once and for all. So, it is mercy all the way through. Ps103 reminds us that He does not treat us as our sins deserve. Let us never forget that.

The central message of the gospel is God who is rich in mercy made us alive in Christ.[1] He demonstrated his love for us while we were yet sinners.[2] He chose us before the foundations of the world were laid.[3] Just stop and thank God that He chose to have mercy on you and me.

The Kingdom of God is all about giving not getting. And even what we receive from God is so that we in turn can give.

Jesus has always been concerned with what's going on in our hearts- because out of the overflow of the heart we speak and act. That is why the first 4 beatitudes deal with our hearts. From that place and only that place can we do the rest.

3. WHAT IS MERCY.

The Romans and the religious leaders were merciless. The Romans saw mercy as a sign of weakness. Jesus was merciful and compassionate to the poor, the blind, the cripple, the demon-possessed, the sinners, tax collectors.

This word mercy – Elemnes is used only twice in the NT. Here and in Hebrews 2:16. The other Hebrew word Chesed is the more commonly used word.

Kingdom people are mercy givers. It is tangible.

Mercy is an element of salvation[4] (Eph.2) So mercy is behind the scenes in salvation. Mercy is behind forgiveness. Mercy and forgiveness are two sides of the same coin.

God's mercies are new every morning (Lam 3:23, Is 43:19). He gives us a fresh start each day. Mercy is more than forgiveness. Mercy gives us a second chance, because we are commanded to forgive 70x7.

Mercy is not giving someone what they deserve.

Grace is giving someone what they don't deserve.

E.g.) Someone steals a meal from the canteen. Judgement would be you call out the wrongdoing and punish the crime.

Mercy is not punishing the crime.

Grace is giving you another hot meal. You cannot have grace without mercy. You cannot show grace without a proper understanding of mercy. Mercy also requires action.

Where can we expect mercy from?

Can I expect people to be merciful to me? I cannot demand it, nor can I expect it, nor am I entitled to it. I can expect mercy only from God. It is not your right to ask or expect mercy from people. Jesus who showed so much mercy to the broken were the very ones who screamed crucify him!!

Is this mercy deal a tit for tat? If I show mercy, I will be shown mercy? No! this is addressing people who are already in the Kingdom who are there because they were shown mercy first. Also, it would be a contradiction of salvation based on grace alone. So, we must always understand scripture in the context of the whole counsel of scripture.

4. WHAT MERCY IS NOT.

We cannot give mercy where we are not authorized to. As a teacher, I must grade a student in all fairness. It is not up to me to overlook the wrong answers and mark them right.

Mercy does not excuse wrongdoing. It is not calling wrong as right. Remember Jesus in His mercy did not condemn the woman caught in adultery but neither did he condone her sin. He told her to go and sin no more. He called her up to a higher standard.

Mercy is not avoiding confrontation. We could disguise as mercy when we are afraid to confront conflict because of our need to please people.

Mercy does not encourage dishonesty, disloyalty etc.

Mercy does not condone indiscipline.

Mercy is not toxic where it enables irresponsible behaviour.

5.WHAT IS MERCY? (CONTINUED)

And yet mercy is not treating a person as they might rightfully deserve. It is like the parable of the unmerciful servant. The other servant owed him money. He had every right to throw him in jail…. But he was shown the better way. He was forgiven a debt he could NEVER repay. He had an opportunity to do likewise.

Mercy requires that we are able to see people's pain and respond with a heart of pity and make the effort to help, even if it is someone who has illtreated you — that's mercy.[5]

It is kindness, compassion in action.

Mercy is costly- it will cost you even financially, emotionally etc. It is to give someone something they don't deserve when they have hurt you.

Jesus is not interested in our religion. He said I desire mercy and not sacrifice. You can pray, you can tithe, you can attend all the meetings and harbour unmerciful thoughts towards people. That is what Jesus was getting at when the teacher of the law asked Him what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus did not commend his religious acts. He gave him the story of the Good Samaritan where the kindness and mercy of the Samaritan toward the Jew (who considered him as unclean)

6. THE DILEMMA[6]

Real-life is complex for Christian people who seriously want to live out their faith in a sinful world. It is not black and white as some might think.

Remember truth comes in layers and is multidimensional. Sometimes we must hold two truths in tension i.e., Justice and mercy. We are called to be merciful while not allowing God's standard to righteousness to slide. For this we need wisdom from above: But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. James 3:17

7. CONCLUSION Mingle Justice and Mercy

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you. But to do justly,
To love ^[^a^]mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

God's will is that sometimes we deal with people with what they deserve, whether punishment or reward (call that justice).

And God's will is that sometimes we recompense people with better than what they deserve (call that mercy). In upholding the claims of justice, we bear witness to the truth that God is a God of justice. In showing mercy we bear witness to the truth that God is a God of mercy.

So how do we know when to show mercy and when to show justice? This balance will come only as we walk closer to Jesus. We may get it wrong at times and we need to trust our redeeming God to overturn our wrong choices.

Even in our execution of justice we can show mercy. While we sometime cannot condone the action of a person, we can still be gracious and loving in our dealing with the person.

Remind yourself of how merciful God has been to you.

Remind yourself of how people have been merciful to you.

Think about how you can show mercy today. How can you make being merciful a lifestyle because it is a core belief? If we want to be more like Jesus then we have no choice but to be merciful.

[1] Eph 2: 4-5

[2] Rom 5:8

[3] Eph 1:5