Brokenness In the Hands Of God

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on Nov 21st 2021 by Abhishek  Bansode D via zoom. For the audio & video please click here.  To listen to the worship please click here.

When we are broken in the hands of God, we are safe and he holds us. Psalm 147:3 “He heals the ”

Isaiah 35-3-4

 

In 2019 I was at a very low point in my life. I was broken! An image came into my mind – an epoxy coffee table – a broken piece of wood can be turned to something of worth and value. So I was encouraged by this. In the hands of God we can be made into a unique masterpiece. Brokenness in the hands of God can lead to something beautiful.

 

We can be broken physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc. It can be different for different people. Broken means crushed, destroyed, burst. It is a painful existence. But in that, the good thing is what Jesus says, he has been sent to heal the broken hearted.

 

The knowledge to rejoice in is that he heals us without any merit. Luke – 4:18. He makes is into a master’s piece.

 

3 Characters who were broken and what can we learn?

1.      David

a.      God has made David into a person who has a legacy forever. But David was broken

b.      He was disregarded by his brothers and by the king. He experienced humiliation at a very different level. He had to flee his own kingdom because of his sons. The Psalms all talk about his heart’s posture while all of these things were happening. He was broken.

c.       We too might be broken because of something that has happened to us. But we can do 2 things:

                                                              i.      Holding on – Isaiah 40:29 “he gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” V.31 “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faith”. He gives us the strength and then rewards us for holding on.

                                                             ii.      Cried out – Psalm 56:8 “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected al my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book”. His compassion for us is astounding! What a good good father we have. David was expressive and emotive and did not have any problem expressing himself to the Lord. He takes it seriously. God is on our side.

2.      Elijah

a.      Elijah was an amazing prophet of God. But he was broken! 1 Kings 18 Elijah wanted to die. Depression is a very real thing and there is no shame in seeking help from a qualified professional for clinical depression.

                                                              i.      Feeding and resting – 1 Kings 19 The angel of the Lord came and gave him food and allows Elijah to rest. God says I know the journey is long for you. He is compassionate and understands. We too need to rest and refuel ourselves by feeding on the Word of God and his abundant love.

                                                             ii.      God’s intimate relation with us – 1 kings 19:11-12 “The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” We might want massive things to happen, but God is in the still small voice – a voice that is for us. His intimate still small voice is for guiding me.

3.      Paul

a.      2 Corinthians 11:23- 29 “ Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?” None of us have suffered like this. In addition, his friends abandoned him when he was in prison

b.      But in the hands of God, he has done great things for the kingdom.

                                                              i.      The sufficiency of Grace – 2 Corinthians 12:9 – 10 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” To be made perfect is like the epoxy table. It means to fill up. He fills us what is lacking in us. In our brokenness there is such grace to look forward to. There is weakness but God’s weakness comes and fill up.

                                                             ii.      Endurance because of Eternal Hope- 2 Tim 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” This is the proof of the sufficiency of Grace. Romans 8: 35 – nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The love of God is the driving force for a person like Paul who was so broken to endure till the end.

In the hands of God, submitted to him, our broken lives can be made beautiful.  

 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. 

Creating A Counterculture part 6

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on Nov 14th 2021 byNavaz D via zoom. For the audio & video please click here.  To listen to the worship please click here.

 

CREATING A COUNTERCULTURE – PART 6

 BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD

1. INTRODUCTION

Over the last few weeks, we have been looking at how Jesus came to usher in the Father's Kingdom-We called it an upside, inside out Kingdom.

At the time of Jesus Christ’s coming into the world, Israel was in a desperate condition. Politically, and economically Israel was under the bondage of the Roman Empire.  Spiritually Israel was also in great trouble. We want to focus here on the spiritual element because that’s what the Beatitude addresses.

Every Jew feared being excluded from the KOG. That was at Nicodemus' heart as well and Jesus says unless you are Born Again you cannot see the KOG!!! The lawyer’s question is the same – what shall I do to inherit eternal life? The crux of these questions is “how can I get right with God?”.  Was not the scriptures clear on this?

And it is that question of the heart that Jesus answers in the Beatitude. How good does a man have to be? What is required? What is the standard? Here it is in verse 8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” What is necessary in order to see God (which is really another way of saying to enter into His kingdom)? What is necessary for a pure heart?

Notice that the beatitudes have a progression. And this is the pinnacle.  We first need to be poor in spirit, recognizing your spiritual bankruptcy, which leads us to mourn over our condition, and then we are meek and humble because of that condition and realize we need to hunger and thirst for His kingdom. From that place, we can grant mercy to others because we have experienced it first.

 Jesus came to establish a spiritual kingdom and is describing the heart of the Kingdom, its values, culture and practice.

 

Jesus is thrashing the theology and understanding of the scriptures of the Pharisees. He is it and showing them the real way, the law needed to be applied.

I would like to correct myself. Jesus was introducing a Right Side up Kingdom and not an upside-down kingdom. The God of the Old Testament was and is always kind and gracious and does not treat us as our sins deserve. If that were not so, Psalm 103 would not bear witness to that.

The human interpretation made is graceless and judging and shaming. Did God shame King David? God always acted justly and even in that there was mercy.

So, this beatitude hits hard at the gut of the Pharisees interpretation of the law-keeping. You cannot understand God’s commands without a relationship of love with Him. When we do that, it gets reduced to rules. We know that God has always been interested in our hearts and not our actions alone. Actions are judged by the intentions of the heart.

Jesus said we clean the inside of the vessel and not the out. What comes out of the mouth is more important than what goes in. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

 BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART.

I feel this is at the heart of the Christian life. And I feel a prophetic unction to call us up to higher ground to live from a pure heart: to have a passion to preserve and guard our hearts against being corrupted.

WHAT IS THE HEART?

It is the seat of all our emotions, personality, affections, desires – the very center of our beings. So, God as always looks at the heart (1Sam 16:7) – for out of the heart flows the issues of life. (Prov 15:7, Prov 4:23) The heart is also a lens or a filter from which you understand life.

 

The heart is where good and evil stem from. Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness. (Matt15:19). The Psalms says in Ps 24:4 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord – the one with clean hands and a pure heart.

Ps 51 David’s prayer was for a pure heart – he knew this was the root of his sin and his sinful actions.

1 Timothy 1:5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith

 

 WHO CAN HAVE A PURE HEART?

The ones that realize that their heart is not pure.

Here is the FULL GOSPEL that we often fail to preach and follow through with it.

We have been saved; our sin nature has been crucified to the cross. We have been justified and declared righteous – that is our standing before God i.e not guilty, all sins paid for in full. And it does not stop there, but often we stop our presentation of the gospel at this point. Yes, the gospel is being saved by grace, and the gospel is grace that teaches us to say no sin and yes to godliness.  AND God is continually cleansing us by washing us with the Word (Eph 5:26 Same root word for clean in Matt 5:8, John 13:10-11, john 15:3  καθαρο Katharoi). God wants to restore us to wholeness in body mind soul spirit.

There is an ongoing cleansing work. How do we know this? Read John 15 – the pruning process.

We are being sanctified – for that we need to be able to recognize the impurities in our heart. You cannot fix what is not broken.  We all have the baggage of sin habits that we need to put to death, and we must believe in the power of the finished work of the cross which can deal with that. The only way to have a pure heart is to first realize you have an impure heart

WHAT IS A PURE HEART?

Another word for pure is sincere – without duplicity, without agendas, manipulation, or double-mindedness. We must learn to walk in this manner. And we learn to live like this when we live by the Spirit

Purity of heart is singlemindedness in what we desire

Purity is walking with integrity –

Purity also has a quality of innocence – wise as serpents, innocent as doves.

James talks about us not being double-minded or having our affections and desires divided James 1:8. In James 4:8 he says, purify your hearts you who are double-minded.

John Bunyan has a character in Pilgrim’s progress called “Mr Facing Both Ways.”  When you are double-minded you are not blessed. Because with our faith it is impossible to please God.

 

The pure heart upholds the truth and does not alter it to suit its convenience.

Jesus talks about focus – love the Lord your God with all your heart mind soul strength.

“Purity of heart is to will one thing” Soren Kierkegaard.

Purity of heart does not mean we will not sin or be without sin. This would be in contradiction of 1 John 1:8 ^If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. and we deceive ourselves. We are like Gold that has impurities that is being refined in God’s furnace of sanctification.

 

WHAT CORRUPTS OR DEFILES OUR HEARTS?

Gal5:19-25 ¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual , immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 

 A cold heart -We are warned that in the last days the hearts of many will grow cold- 1 Tim 6:

Jesus put it another way – no one can serve two masters.

A hard heart – when our heart is clogged with pride, bitterness, being judgemental, unforgiveness etc it can dull the conscience.

A double-minded heart.

HOW CAN WE KEEP OUR HEARTS PURE?

Ps 119:9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.

John 15: by abiding in Jesus. Learning to walk in step with the Holy Spirit.

Purity of heart takes being very strict with your conscience – not allowing even a hint of conscious deceit in your life. It is not trying to manipulate situations. It is refusing to deal with half-truths and cover up, lies, dishonesty. 

James says this person is unstable in all that he does. Also, you need to hold up the mirror to your soul each day. The Mirror is the Word of God Doing this will prevent your conscience from being dulled, misinformed, or seared.

God is looking for purity. He will come with his winnowing fork. Will you be the wheat or the chaff?

King David knew this. When his sin with Bathsheba was exposed, he realized that he had sinned against God.

At the beginning of the year, we had a prophetic word of the virgins with the oil lamps and that we need to trim our wicks of all the impurities so that there will be no smoke. What have we allowed God to trim from our lives? Are we filling our jars with the oil of His presence that will help us sustain?

 

FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD:

When we are single-minded about becoming Christlike, this is the reward – we will see God. This is the goal of everyone who loves Jesus – to be able to see Him and have communion with him. This is what Adam and Eve enjoyed in their pure state. Their only love was God and to delight in His presence. Till they were tempted with something far less and which shut down their ability to see God. That plagued all of humanity.

Moses had one desire – show me your face

David – longed to see God’s face and dwell in his presence forever.

Man has always tried to get closer to God or to become one with Him and have tried to do it in their own strength. Some have tried it by isolating themselves from the world. Some have gone into monasteries. Some have tried to beat evil out of themselves or do some form of penance.

If it were possible by these means we could irradicate the world’s problems. But this is not so.

What does it mean to “see God”?

It is a deeper revelation, illumination, insight, understanding, intimacy, relationship with God. From this follows that we will know His ways, heart, thoughts and will.

Why is seeing God so important?

 Without Jesus we have no life. He has the words of eternal life. He is the source of living water which will quench our thirst once and for all! He is the source of our being, our joy, our fruitfulness. It all comes from abiding in Him and growing in intimacy with Him.

Only when we hunger and thirst for righteousness will be develop a pure heart. You cannot have one without the other. That is why we cannot study each Beatitude in isolation. They are all interconnected.

Today I am calling and encouraging us to live the Christian life as it should be: Where Inside and out is the same and it is the Right side up!!

The pure of heart receive the most wonderful reward. They shall enjoy greater intimacy with God than they could have imagined. The polluting sins of greed, envy, lust, and deceit and lies have a definite blinding effect upon a person.

The reward of an intimate relationship with God must become our greatest motivation for purity, greater than a fear of getting caught or a fear of consequences.  Because purity would mean owning up to the impurities in our heart and sometimes that would mean confessing to someone that is affected by your sin.

 How badly do you want the fruit of godly living in your life? Then you will seek it no matter what it costs you

Are we willing to let go the need for self-preservation and humble ourselves before God? Purification is a process of pain. Change is pain. When the pain of staying the way, you are is greater than the pain of the process of pain, you will embrace change. But when we allow ourselves to be moulded and purified by the refiner’s fire, we become this pure gold that has this translucent quality like a mirror.

Those who have had a revelation of God hunger for more and more of Him. O taste and see that the Lord is good.

In the same way there is an invitation to come and taste, come and drink (Isaiah 55:1, John 7 :37-39, Rev 22:17) And the more you thirst after the presence of God nothing else will satisfy and everything else will taste insipid, rotten and putrid. You will not be able to stomach it anymore.

There is so much to say about the presence of God and how beautiful it is and how inviting and attractive.

Do you want your life to be sorted? Allow God to rearrange your heart. Then you will see things clearly, you will be able to discern God’s good perfect and pleasing will for your life. And His will for your life is the best and life-giving.

 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. 

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. 

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.

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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!

 

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.