Hard-working farmer's hope

(Message by Pastor Philip Joseph – January 24, 2010 at NLF, Vashi. Here’s hoping I haven’t missed much. Happy reading!)

Let us continue with the illustrations given in 2 Timothy 2. We saw the illustrations of Christian life against the backdrop of a good soldier (v3), a winner athlete (v5). Let us now turn our attention to verse 6 for our next illustration. It says,

“The hard-working farmer must be first to partake of the crops”

India  is mainly an agricultural country. Many of us, who live in cities, probably have no exposure to what a farmer does. But if you have had the good fortune to visit a farmer, one thing that strikes you is that the farmers are really hard-working. And today, let me teach you all a little bit of farming from the Bible; how we can be a farmer in our own lives and in the lives of others.

If any farmer has a fertile farmland, but does not cultivate any crop or work over it, the farmland will soon become a wasteland with weeds and unwanted things. He is a lazy farmer who does not work his fields. In our life too, if we are lazy, we won't be able to accomplish all that God has kept for us. We can learn the principles of sowing, hoping and reaping from the hard-working farmer.

We can invest our time and effort in the lives of others-our near and dear ones, our spouse, and our children (Those of you who are parents will understand that it is indeed hard-work at times investing in the lives of our children; just providing food, clothing and shelter is no guarantee that the child will not go astray).

We can invest in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ. You see, church growth is not only by the work of leaders, but every member in the body of Christ must be willing to sow in the lives of others. If we have fellowship, one with another, each of us can be useful to God.

1. We reap only WHEN we sow

Psalm 126: 5, 6 says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him”

The principle here is, without sowing there is no reaping. Here is an illustration of a man who probably had very little grain. He is in need to provide for himself and his household in the present circumstances. But he has to look for the future provisions too. And he chooses to sow, even with his little, even in tears. Under siege of want, he shows the face of courage, even with weeping, bearing seed for sowing. he will doubtless come rejoicing bringing ih his sheaves.

Sometimes we may not feel like sowing the seed of God's word in the lives of others, including our children. But if we refrain from sowing, there can be no harvest, no reaping. Jesus taught us the parable of the Sower, sowing the seed of God's word. God's word is to instruct, correct and guide ourselves and our fellow believers. We can plant the seed of God's word in the tender hearts of our children. There will doubtless be a wonderful harvest in due time.

Any farmer knows that there is time between sowing and the harvest-for example rice will take about 6 months. The times you have invested in the lives of your children and fellow believers will indeed bear fruit. Do not lose hope if you have sown God's word, even in tears and weeping.

2. We reap only WHAT we sow

The second principle of farming is found in Galatians 6: 7. “Do not be deceived. God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap”

If a farmer has sown rice in the field, can he expect a wheat harvest? He can pray, fast and spend sleepless nights, but only the seed that is sown will grow for harvest. This is an area to pay careful attention in our own lives and in the lives of our children. What do we allow to be sown into our lives? If we sow to the flesh, we reap corruption and when we sow to the Spirit, we reap everlasting life.

Look around and see the influence of movies, music videos and television. Are these the non-nonsensical seed sown in our lives and in the lives of our children? Then is it any wonder to reap death? You can never under-estimate the power of the seed that is sown.

‘Sow to the Spirit.’ Impart God's word to the children; when we walk, when we sit down, when we talk… So shall our reaping be to everlasting life.

3. We reap only in proportion to what we sow.


Our harvest depends on the quantity that is sown. How much or how little? We thank God for our Sunday school teachers. But as parents, if we have sown only a little in the lives of our children, we can expect a harvest only in proportion to what we have sown. Thirty, sixty or hundredfold…but always only in proportion to what we have sown.

II Corinthians 9:6 says, “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully”

The context here is about giving-giving of money. Paul encourages the church in Corinth to give willingly and bountifully to the needs of saints in Jerusalem, who were having a real hard time. It can be applied as a financial principle in how much we bring as offering. You can choose to be a farmer, who sows sparingly; or one who sows bountifully into the kingdom of God. And our reaping is always in proportion to what we have sown. Jesus says in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

4. Know where to sow; sow the seed in good ground

If we look at the parable of the Sower, in Matthew 13:3 onwards, we find that the seed is the word of God. Some fell among thorns and rocks and yielded no crop. “But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (v8).

Paul urges Timothy in 2Tim. 4:2 “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season…” You see, all the goody goody words, the rational reasoning, the noble thinking, the lofty ideals and high principles of man can never bring about LIFE change, but just ONE WORD of GOD can! Therefore, we must be ready to sow God's word in our own lives and in the lives of others.

Jeremiah 4:3 says, “…Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns”.  If you've seen a farmer, you would know that they first plough the ground before sowing. After breaking up the ground, it becomes ready for the seed. We need to guard our hearts and be receptive to God's word. If we harden our hearts, the word of God will have no impact in our lives. We chug along the Christian life without any crop, because the ground is fallow.

Similarly, when we sow in the lives of others, the seed of God's word, gauge their receptiveness. Consider these verses, Do not sow among thorns, Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, and Pearls before swine… Else we will end up with fruitless labor that has no reward. We must be wise in our hearts to know where to sow the seed of God's word.

5. Know when to sow; sow in times of peace

Although we are ready with the seed in all season, we must know when to sow the seed. A farmer knows the time for sowing of seed for a particular crop. Also, he will not sow if the climatic conditions are adverse-for example, when it is too windy, or stormy. James 3:18 says, “Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace”

Sow in times of peace. This is especially true when we deal with cranky children. By experience, we know that they are least receptive to correction and God's word during those times. Then it is wise to allow things to calm down before speaking to them; before sowing the seed of God's word into their lives.

It is the same way to sow in times of rest in people's lives. People who are angry and upset will be least receptive to God's word.

6. Embrace teamwork; For one sows and another reaps

Look at John 4: 37, 38 “For in this the saying is true: One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors”

Beloved, there is teamwork in the kingdom of God. Nobody is created to be a ‘be-all, do-all’ human-industry. We are all in this together to fulfill His plan. Paul confronts the Corinthians thus: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase” (1 Cor. 3: 6, 7).

If we look at our own lives, we know somebody has sown into our lives and we are reaping the benefits. Similarly when we sow, there will be others who will reap the harvest. Some are called to plant churches, others to minister, some as preachers and teachers and administrators… we can reap and rejoice in the reaping of others in an attitude of teamwork.

7. Be patient and do not lose heart

A farmer knows to wait. It takes time and patient hard-work to finally see the harvest-crop. In farming, there are no instant results.

James 5:7 says, “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain”

We, in the present time, are so enamored with instant  results – we want instant coffee or tea, instant (fast) food, instant service and instant (live) news. But in the greatness of the kingdom of God, there is no such thing as a  'salvation sandwich and a cup of sanctity'. Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart”. We will surely see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Therefore do not lose heart.

In closing, let us ponder the warning found in Proverbs 24:30-34.

 "I went by the field of the lazy man, and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; and there it was, all overgrown with thorns; its surface was covered with nettles; its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest; so shall your poverty come like a prowler, and your need like an armed man."

Remember the principles of sowing, working, hoping and reaping. Let us receive His word in our hearts. Let us be patient; let us always have hope and may God bless us with the fruit in due season. Amen.

Race for the Champion Athlete

(A Gist of the message by Pastor Philip Joseph – January 17, 2010 at NLF, Vashi. Here’s hoping I haven’t missed much. Happy reading!)

We are seeing some illustrations from the Bible of who we are in Christ and what is Christian life all about. If we turn to 2 Tim 2:5, we read

“And also, if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules”

We, in the Christian life, are like ‘athletes’ competing in athletics. I do not know if you have been part of competitive sports at any level. But I was in a boarding school where participation in sport was compulsory. There was a lot of preparation involved; and fierce competition for some place in the school team. And it was a matter of honor to represent the school in some athletic event. Whenever I read this passage from the Bible, memories of such time in school come to my mind.

Each of us, after we have come to know Jesus Christ, is like being selected for some athletic event. We have been short-listed; we have been ‘chosen’. We are now like athletes representing their school or college or country. Do you recall the selection trials for the Olympics? How many athletes take part in those trials to become one of the few to represent their country! Once they are selected, rather than simply resting on that achievement, they practice all the more to win the prize in Olympics. That’s what we are called to be-A ‘winner’ athlete! A Champion Athlete. The Bible urges us, to think of the ‘crown’; to ‘GO for the GOLD’. That’s how an athlete trains himself. Don’t settle for anything less!

The verse continues, that the athlete ‘competes according to the rules’. You see, there are rules to follow even in an athletic race. There are lanes to run, there are controls on ‘drug’ foods, and there are rules on start-time…The athletes are supposed to know and follow these rules, else they will be disqualified. And in much the same way, we the Christian 'athletes' too must KNOW the rules and ABIDE by the rules.
In Gal. 5:7, Paul warns the Galatians, “You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” Here was the case of false teaching abounding in the church in those times about circumcision. Let the truth of God’s word be ingrained in our hearts; else we will be led astray by false teaching. Psalm 119:32 says, “I will run the course of Your commandments, for you shall enlarge my heart”. Let us start the race, knowing the rules. Let us run the race, obeying the rules.

In Hebrews 12:1, it goes “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance…”

Imagine an athlete, well-trained to compete in an event, but arriving at the start-line with a heavy back-pack on his shoulders! Or in a sporting shoes whose lace is all entangled with each other! How can he compete in the race? Such is also the Christian race…where we lay aside every weight, every burden that weigh us down; Casting all our care-our burden upon Him who cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). We do not get entangled in any sin, but discipline ourselves to run the race.

Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 9:24, 25 – “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown”

The above verse sort of sums up what we have been talking about till now. There is a crown – an imperishable crown for those who run the Christian race. We must go for the prize – run in such a way as to obtain the ‘crown’. The verse adds, that the athletes are temperate in ALL things; they exercise self-control over what they eat, when they eat, what they do, how they train and when and how they rest. They lead a disciplined life. Their exercise is to obtain a perishable crown. But ours – for an imperishable crown!

Paul writes to Timothy in 1 Tim.4: 7, 8, “…exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come”.
And in v12, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity”.

We have to train ourselves in Godliness! We must train ourselves to be godly in our word-in what we speak; we cannot afford to say just anything! In our conduct-in our relationship to one another, in love, in spirit, in faith even in the midst of trials, in purity. My beloved, all these do not come automatically once you come to Jesus. We need to exercise our ‘spiritual’ muscles and have to train ourselves in these ‘godly’ qualities.

How do we do that?
a) Spend your time consiously
1 Corinthians 10:23 says, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify”. In the freedom that God has given us, we can start doing things that are profitable, that are for edification. There are many ways to spend our time…lawfully, but not all may be profitable. We must choose how to spend our time here on earth.

b) Be certain, be alert, be focussed
Yes, certainly, there is an imperishable crown waiting for us! 1 Cor. 9:26 says, “Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty…”- This is our goal - to obtain the crown. Just like any athlete who is focused on going for the gold in Olympics, we too must be alert, focussed and not allow ourselves to be distracted in any way. It is easy to get distracted and entangled. But Hebrews 12:2 talks about running the race, “looking unto Jesus…” We fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, “the author and finisher of our faith”. It also means that we consciously take our eyes away from the things that distract us!

If we do that, we will not be ensnared in any sin. Now coming back to Hebrews 12:1, we see, “…let us run with endurance…”

Beloved, the race is not a short 100m dash. It’s more likely a marathon! A special requirement of such long-distance runners is ‘endurance’. The race has started on our knowing Jesus Christ and it continues till the end of our life here on earth. It may be years and decades of ‘race’ on the Christian track. Therefore we must have an enduring heart. We must persevere and pursue the goal set before us. Therefore we must never give up in this Christian race. Remember Jesus saying, ‘He who endures to the end will be saved’ (Matt. 10:22).

When the sunlight saps the energy, and the head seems to burst; when the legs feel like lead and the body says ‘Give up’, the champion athletes carry on in the race with determined endurance. We too must have this winning mind-set. Don’t run the Christian race thinking what you do and how you do will never make a difference here on earth.

There are many before us, who have successfully finished the race. Hebrews 6:20 says, Jesus is our forerunner. We are to follow His example. For the joy that was set before Him, Jesus too endured the cross…Remember the champions who have gone before us; Hebrews 11 gives a list of heroes of faith-the honor roll of the faithful. Go for the gold…your name too is potentially fit for that roll call of the faithful. Do your best, don’t settle for the mediocre-the silver and bronze. May God help us to have this ‘champion’ mind-set.

Let me close with a familiar verse from Isaiah 40:31 “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 faint”

He who has called us is faithful. Trust in the Lord. The Bible says, ‘It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes’ (Psalm 118:8, 9). If you are disappointed and weary at this time of your life, it is time to wait on the Lord! He will renew your strength like the eagles. We will run after Him. We will run and not be weary. Hebrews 12:1 says that we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses who cheers us on in our running.

Therefore, let us run the race according to the rules; run with discipline and self-control, run without weights and burdens that bog us down, run with an aim and focus without distraction, run with endurance, training ourselves in godliness-love and faith! If we have these qualities, we are ‘champion’ athletes certain to have the ‘crown’. In eternity is our reward. Death here is the end of the race. I pray what we learnt today will help all of us run with such qualities here on earth and of holding the prize someday.

Shall we pray?

Thank You, O Lord, for short-listing us in the race that is set before us. Give us an understanding of Your will in our lives, that we may run the race with endurance. Bless each one of us here that we may obtain the crown of life. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.

Soldier's duty and armor

(Message by Pastor Philip Joseph on January 10, 2010, at NLF-Vashi. Here’s hoping I haven’t missed much. Happy reading!)

If we look at 2 Tim. 2: 3, 4 we read, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier”

There are many examples and illustrations in the Bible that help us to understand our position in Christ and our relation with this world. Here in this passage, Paul urges Timothy with this illustration that we are as soldiers  called to endure hardship for Jesus Christ. Paul also addresses his co-workers as fellow soldiers in the Bible.

Think for a moment why Paul should use this illustration of ‘soldier’. There is no other explanation except that we, as Christians, are in a battle – a battle that is real. There is an enemy - an enemy that is real. Now think for a moment what life would be like as a soldier. We had an opportunity to meet an uncle recently, who had served in the army. He was not directly involved in the battle but was in the support group for the soldiers. If w go to the army quarters, we will find their life is different from those of civilians in some way. In fact, they could easily tell the civilians from the soldier. Their thinking too is quite different. There is a strict discipline that is enforced – getting up early, a daily routine of physical training, get by with little food… their mindset is all about fitness and alertness. And ‘hardship’ is not something strange to them. Paul's urgency for us is also this; that there is nothing strange for a soldier when hardship comes.

2 Tim. 2: 4 talks about the reason for this; the aim is to ‘please the commanding officer’. 2 Cor. 5:9, says, “make it our goal to please Him” – this is our desire, our ambition – please God. Verse 4 also says that a soldier does not get entangled in civilian affairs. Now that means a soldier is not distracted but focused. That is our calling to; to remain focused and to please God. It's easy to get entangled in civilian affairs for us. But imagine, what will happen if soldiers get involved and entangled in civilian affairs? (Don't we have examples of such countries in the world?)

The other aspect of the soldier is ‘alertness’. We met the head of air-force squadron recently. You see, a country may be at peace with its neighbours. But, it does not mean that the armed forces in the country are not alert. While talking on alertness, he assured us that it would take him less than 5 minutes to lift the war-planes off the ground on any emergency. This is a lesson on alertness; they are not bogged down by civilian matters. We too must not be bogged down by ‘civilian’ matters; because our battle is REAL. The book of Ephesians talks about our battle against demonic forces – ‘against principalities and powers’. There is a REAL enemy. Our battle is not against any humans; the enemy Satan has aligned himself against us. And he has sinister schemes and strategies to put us down.

If we look at 2 Corinthians 2: 10, 11, it says, “Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices”

If we put these two verses together, it is clear that every scheme of Satan is known to Christian ‘soldiers’. And that un-forgiveness is one of Satan's device to get us bogged down. This is written by Paul against the backdrop of an influential man in Corinth  who was living in immorality and who was put out of the Church. But this man really repented, came back to Christ and received forgiveness. Now it was the Church's turn to forgive him. Paul urges the Church to pursue the path of forgiveness, lest Satan take an advantage in anyone's life. It is the scheme of Satan to remind us of the past, for us to always have guilt when someone does not forgive.

Maybe we are angry and mad at some person who has hurt us. But God has called us to have a heart of forgiveness. In this battle, we must be free to forgive to experience victory over the enemy. Ephesians 4:26 says, “Be angry, and do not sin” do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

One of Satan’s schemes is just to have a foothold in somebody’s life. He may target just one area of a person’s life and if we give him a place, that will be our failing and falling. If we are prone to anger, and are always disgruntled with people and situations, that is an area for us to work on as it is a potential ‘foothold’ for the devil. Jesus talks about Satan in John, ‘the ruler of this world is coming and he has nothing in Me’; Satan had no foothold in the life of Jesus while on earth. For us too, there should be no area in our life that is in darkness – hidden from God. But let His light shine on every area of our life. He certainly will help us make changes according to His will; and we will be protected and Satan will not have a foothold in our life.

Ephesians 6 talks about the armor of God. Many of us are familiar with this. But if we look at Eph. 5, we hear Paul talking about family relationships; relationship - between husbands and wives, between parents and children. If we put everything in perspective, this is what I understand – we ought to put family relationships in high priority in order to avoid the snares of the devil. Then we ought to put on the full armor of God. Fighting against the enemy does not mean some imaginatively grand ‘spiritual’ battles in the heavenlies; but rather mostly focused on keeping our guard on family relationships – between husbands and wives; between parents and children. It is still one of Satan’s scheme to bring dissension between family members – children against parents; brothers against brothers…So spiritual warfare calls for alertness at home and in our family relationships.

Now, Ephesians 6 talks of putting on the full armor of God. The bottom-line is – WE ARE UNDER ATTACK. This is how the soldiers went for battle in the olden days. Let us look at the weapons of our warfare: -

1. Belt of truth: We must be clear in our understanding of God and His Word. There must be no two thoughts about what is truth. It is the truth of the gospel – He is truth and His word is truth. Ephesians also exhort us to ‘speak the truth always…’ There should be no falsehood in our life. This is an important piece of armor which holds all other pieces of armor together. A soldier whose belt gives way in the midst of the battle is most pitiable - all other weapons of warfare will suddenly become most vulnerable. Take heed to stand for the truth always – about what you know of God and His Word.
2. Breastplate of righteousness: The breastplate is an armor that protects the vital organs of the body. Give no room for unrighteousness in your life – whether little or lot. Whether it be financial dealings or social behavior. The word warns us, He who is unrighteous in little is also unrighteous in much. Therefore we must be fair in our financial dealings as well – with whatever is in our custody, with whatever we have agreed upon, with whatever we have pledged.
3. Shoes of the gospel of peace: We, as soldiers in the battle, must have peace with one another. Imagine what will be the fate of an army that has in-fighting! We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Our battle is against ‘spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places’ (Eph 6:12). It is of utmost importance that we carry ourselves as men and women of peace. Pursue peace is every relationship. Romans 12:18 says, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men”. Endeavour to live in peace with all. For want of a nail, the battle should not be lost.
4. Shield of faith: We have heard of ‘saving’ faith, a ‘measure’ of faith and now here a shield of faith. This is an armor that we show up – lift up against the fiery flaming arrows of the evil one. God loves me and has called me His child. This assurance must remain in us at all times. In times of darkness around us, we can still believe and know that God is on the throne. We can confess ‘Though I don’t understand, I know yet I will praise Him’. Show up the shield of faith and it will quench all the flaming darts of doubts.
5. Helmet of Salvation: This is again a protection of another vital part of our body – our head; our mind. We cannot afford to fight this battle with just our intellect and mind. The Bible talks of the ‘hope of salvation’. We have this firm hope of future ‘eternal’. And our salvation secure in Jesus Christ, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross (Heb. 12). There is ALWAYS hope in God. If we are prone to reasoning and logicality of things happenings and people’s behavior around us, then it is time to put on the helmet of Salvation. And look with the eyes of faith of things unseen yet certain.
6. Sword of the Spirit – the word of God: And finally a weapon of attack. Look at all the weapons above, and it is all given for defense – defending ourselves against the attack of the enemy. And now, the sword of the word of God is the weapon of attack. Just one word can slay the devil. 2 Cor. 10: 4, 5 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ …” His Spirit is working in us; reminding us of God’s word that can pull down every strongholds of the evil one. His Spirit speaking in our ears that this is the way, walk in it.
   
   All weaponry for our defense and attack are given to us. We have to put on and take up these weaponry for our own good in the battle against us. It is significant that there are no warfare weapons for our backs; that is, we have no protection for our backs – The logic is simple: THERE IS NO TURNING BACK. We have stood for the battle. We must take up the full armor.

No enemy can withstand these weapons, because God is on our side. If God be for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:35). “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ” (2 Cor. 2:14).

We know Jesus the Commander; and Jesus the Conqueror. The enemy Satan is defeated and his head is crushed – he is badly bruised (may I say brain-dead. There will be no more new schemes of Satan). He has been made a public spectacle. As the victorious king will lead a procession into the enemy’s territory, Jesus leads us in a triumphal procession. We have put on the armor and stood for battle. Now, we are just following Him into victory. This is an overwhelming victory. And we have become as more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. Shall we pray?

Lord Jesus, we thank you for giving us a wonderful victory. We thank you for enlisting us as soldiers in your army. We pray for your word to be revealed and alive in our lives each day. We ask for your blessings upon us, that we may fight the good fight of faith and experience your victory always. In your name, Amen.

Year of God's favor

(Message by Pastor Philip Joseph on January 3, 2010, at NLF-Vashi. Here’s hoping I haven’t missed much. Happy reading!)

If we look at Luke 4:19, we see an interesting episode in the beginning of Jesus' ministry while He was in the flesh, here on earth. Jesus was to read from the book of the prophet Isaiah. He found the place of a certain prophecy and begins to read from it. But abruptly, He stopped reading when He had come to the portion “…to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” and then closed the book. If we turn to the book of Isaiah and see these verses, the prophecy continues “…to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God;”

It is significant for us to know that Jesus closed the book before proclaiming 'the day of vengeance'; because it is still in the future; still ahead. We can stop to consider where Jesus stopped, and know that we are living in the times of God's favor and continue to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. The day of vengeance is certain, when God's judgment and wrath is poured out. We see this in the book of Revelation. But for now, we're still living in the times of grace. Today I would like to share of His goodness and mercy and about all fruitfulness and blessings that we can experience in these times of grace.

Plentiful times!

Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). We're still in the sunshine of God's favor. We must examine and experience and exploit all of God's favor upon us to work the works of God. Night follows the day. Years of famine follows years of plenty. We see it happened during Joseph's time; when the Pharaoh had a dream. Joseph interpreted the dream and gave wise counsel on how to manage the plentiful season. There is also another prophecy in the Old Testament. It talks of famine – not of food, but of God's word. We must comprehend that right now we're in the times of ‘plenty’ with regard to God's word. We find many Christian literatures, resources for knowing and teaching; we have the Bible available in many languages. We must store up God's word in our hearts in these plentiful times.

Psalm 65: 11 says, “You crown the year with Your goodness, and your paths drip with abundance”. There is going to be a bounty this year-an year of abundance. And we will experience fruitfulness in this New Year. In Psalm 103, the psalmist says, 'Bless the Lord, O my soul' and then, 'He satisfies your mouth with good things'. So that's what we can be thankful for! Even before we see the blessings, we can start to bless the Lord. In the New Year eve service, I talked about being fruitful. God wants us to be fruitful – ‘to bear much fruit’ (John 15). We can open our hearts to God’s pruning, that we may bear much fruit. There are no short-cuts to Christian maturity. And we can’t bear fruit ourselves. We have to be attached to Jesus-the true Vine. In Gal. 5:22, we see the ‘fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…etc’

The fruit of the Spirit

You know, if you consider the fruit of the Spirit, you find that it is not producible apart from God. For example, you cannot manufacture peace by yourself. You can try to isolate yourself, seek a lonely place; but no! Peace does not come like that! It’s like holding a defect-free, perfectly manufactured electric bulb in your hands and hoping that it would glow somehow. But it won’t! Until you plug it to the electric supply. If you want peace, you have to get connected to the Prince of peace! And His peace floods your soul, a peace that passes understanding! In a similar manner is Joy. Do you expect to produce ‘joy’ by partying all night? Or can you buy it some place? But we can come to God, and know that ‘in His presence, there is fullness of joy’. The secret is to abide in Him!

The fruits of righteousness

Paul writes to Philippians saying, “being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:11). Hold fast to the seed of God’s word for it is able to produce the fruits of righteousness. ‘The good ground’ are those who ‘hear God’s word and accept it and bear fruit; some thirtyfold, some sixty and some a hundred’ (Mar 4:20). James talks of the wisdom from above, that is ‘full of mercy and good fruits’ (James 3:17). Give due diligence to God’s word; heed the warnings written therein. Be wise. Be merciful. Forgive! Let go! Forgive others freely. Because freely you have received forgiveness! Each year is an extended period of God’s mercy and grace. God wants us to be changed from glory to glory; to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. God does not want us to remain in the same place and position year after year in our relationships.

Fruitfulness in our work

God has promised to bless the work of our hands. We need His blessings! We read in Psalm 127, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it”. All our labor will be vain, unless the Lord blesses the work of our hands. You see, the world may think differently. We find the so-called ‘self-made’ individuals who have ‘made it’ in life! All their wealth and possessions, they boast, are by their own intelligence and hard-work. In the ‘kingdom of God’ we think different from them. We acknowledge we are nothing and that we can do nothing, apart from God. But when we have Jesus, there is bound to be a miracle. We live the abundant life, because of Him, who blessed five loaves and two fishes and fed thousands! We may have little with us, but we gladly give it to Him for multiplication so that thousands will be blessed! Colossians 1:10 talks about ‘being fruitful in every good work’.

Fruitfulness in the ministry

God is interested in blessing our ministry. Paul talks of ‘fruit from my labor’ in Phil 1:22. Peter was an expert fisherman before he met Jesus. But one morning, he was a dejected man, because he had no fruit from his labor-‘He toiled all night’, but ‘caught nothing’. Jesus told him, to launch out into the deep. And when Peter saw that in obeying Jesus, their nets were full, he fell down at Jesus knees. Jesus told him, “From now on, you will catch men”. And what a change in Peter’s life from that day on! He stood up as the natural leader among the disciples on the day of Pentecost. He had learned to simply trust God and obey. In the entire history, it was a brand new experience in the Holy Spirit! Yet He knew it was from God and that he was called to minister to thousands on that day. It is not by our own intelligence, work or strength, but the Spirit of God working in us.

It is not only a chosen few for the ministry, but each one according to the gift he has received is called to minister to one another in the house of God. In my own life, I can testify, that from 15 years on when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, I have been involved in some kind of ministry. And I encourage you to use whatever you have to minister. God will make it fruitful. Start now. For now is the acceptable time. Otherwise we will see years and years pass by, without being fruitful. It’s never too early and never too late to minister. Young or old, you can start to minister according to the grace given to you. You may think, ‘I have to be more spiritual to minister’. But give whatever you have-nothing is too little for the Lord if you have a willing heart.

Ephesians 2:12 says, before we knew Christ we were “…having no hope and without God in the world”. But now we know Christ. So when we look at 2010, we must have hope because, we have our God with us. We have met Jesus. And He has promised never to leave us. Therefore, we can be filled with hope all through the year. We don’t know what 2010 will bring us; but we know God is on the throne. That God is the authority in heaven and on earth. That Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords! We need not face the challenges of 2010 alone. The Lord of hosts is with us! The God of Jacob is our stronghold!

He will bear us on eagle's wings! Maybe it will require us to come out of our comfort zones. That's what the eagle does to the young ones! Push them out of the nests! And swoop down to carry them again in case they do not manage to fly! God has promised that ‘When you walk through the waters, I will be with you. The waters will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, it shall not harm you’. It is not a question of ‘if’ you walk! It is just a matter of ‘when’ you walk…We know the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. When they were put in the fire, there was a fourth ‘Man’ with them. And they came out unscathed from the fire. Gold is refined in the fire. It will be pure and priceless after it passes through the fire.

Don't live a life independent of God. We can learn to trust Him, lean on Him. He is utterly faithful.

Let me conclude with the verse in Romans 15:13  which says, “Now may the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”

Therefore have hope for this New Year! Shall we pray?

Thank you O God for your presence. We know it is all sufficient if You go with us and Your presence is with us. Fill us, O God, with all hope. Speak your word to every brother and sister’s situation, that they may have joy and peace and that we as your children may accomplish all that you have kept for us. Thank you for crowning this year with bounty and satisfy our mouth with good things. With faith and confidence we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.