Skip to main content

What I Learned on Sunday, 1st Edition

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:1, 2 ESV)
Every Sunday morning I try and pick one valuable truth from the sermon I have heard to hold my fort during the week. I was challenged by today's sermon which came from the verse above.
The preacher explained that all who are true followers of Jesus are "saints". He also also said the term means "God's holy people". Most importantly we are God's holy people TODAY, not when we are declared by someone as a "saint".

I was struck by this thought. Apostle Paul was writing to a rugged crew of believers with all their imperfections. And the thing he wants to highlight upfront is that they are God's holy people today.

I was challenged by this because when I think of the local gathering of believers the phrase "God's holy people" is not what immediately comes to mind. But Paul flips the switch. He says that Christian who annoys you a lot, if that person has come to Jesus, he is God's holy person!

That struggling person who never makes the prayer meeting and whose faith you doubt actually is God's holy person. She may not tick all your boxes, but the blood of Christ has already ticked the most important box for her!

This truth is a game changer! If we saw other believers in our own lives [at home, church, work] as God's holy people, it would bring tremendous humility and unity in our relationships. We would move from a posture of condemning to encouraging. We would actually start seeing people grow to be who they are in Jesus!

By the way, the other phrase Paul uses is "faithful". I think he means they ARE faithful in Jesus Christ because Jesus is faithful on their behalf. So there is no immediate aspiration here. If you know Jesus you are already HOLY and FAITHFUL because Jesus is HOLY and FAITHFUL. Another earth shaking truth!

The aspiration of course comes in the blessing / prayer at the end: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ". To live out who we are as HOLY and FAITHFUL we need the grace from God and the peace from God. But again those things comes from our identity as God's children and the Lordship of Jesus in our lives.

My prayer this week is that I may see other believers as God sees them!

Until next Sunday's sermon....

Copyright © Chola Mukanga 2014
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Vulnerability of A Pastor

None are more exposed to slanders and insults than godly teachers. This stems not only from the immense demands of their work, which can sometimes overwhelm them, causing them to stumble or falter and thus providing fertile ground for malicious individuals to find fault. Even when they diligently fulfil their duties and avoid any errors, they face a barrage of criticisms. Satan’s strategy is to alienate people from their ministers, gradually undermining their teaching and causing its reputation to suffer. This not only harms innocent individuals whose reputations are unjustly tarnished but also diminishes the authority of God’s holy teaching. Satan’s primary goal is to achieve this, as Plato’s observation about the maliciousness and envy of the masses applies here. Furthermore, the more sincerely a pastor strives to advance Christ’s kingdom, the more they become targets of spite and the more intense the attacks against them become. Moreover, accusations against ministers of the Wor...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

Christian Unity

I profess myself to be of no party, and to love all of every party who love the Lord our saviour in sincerity. If they preach the truth in love, live as they preach, and are wise and watchful to win souls, and to feed the flock, I care not much whether they are called, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Church men, Kirkmen, or Methodists. I desire to rejoice in their success, on every side. I believe the zealots of all parties, pity or blame me, for my latitudinarian spirit, but the moderate and peaceable of all parties show me kindness.  In some of the great shops in London, there are several counters; and servants at each to attend the customers. If these servants are faithful and have their masters' interest at heart, they will not be jealous of each other, they will not affront the customers by saying 'Why do not you come to be served on my side of the shop? If they are all well served and pleased, it signifies not to which counter they come. Now what are we but servants of...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

God is Not in A Rush

It is a noble aim to serve the Lord but we are sometimes too hasty, like children who love fruit but have not patience to stay till it is ripe. But the Lord is seldom hasty in his operations, and when our zeal comes to be sifted, by experience and after reflection, we shall perhaps find some of the bran of our own spirit mixed with it. Nay, possibly that Satan transformed into an angel of light, has put us upon things beyond the present call of duty and beyond our strength, that we may give him the less disturbance in future. In a word as I approve of your zeal, I shall be glad for your own sake if you will approve and adopt a little of my prudence. I wish my | letters may be a bridle to you and yours a spur to me.  JOHN NEWTON  (Source: Wise Counsel, p30)  Newton is giving this caution to Ryland because he feels he is getting overstretched. Ryland is taking on too much. He is serving as a man in hurry because he probably feels the urgency of the Gospel. Newton’s point is...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →