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by Ps. Sibi -August 26th 2018

John 13:1-17 talks about Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. The most profound principle at work here was this -The feet were dirty because the walk was on different dirty grounds, gathering different types of dirt. Yet, Jesus became a servant to wash the feet.

Remember, they were dirty, stinky feet. Even worse was the fact that Jesus knew who would betray Him; yet he washed his feet.

He asked us to do the same.

When we wash people’s feet in spite of them being dirty, we show that we love that person; this alongside our challenges and weaknesses.

John 3:21

21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.

Truth is practiced; taking effort & spending time in cultivating it. What comes naturally to us is sin and all that Satan represents.

Practice also means falling the nth time and getting up, dusting yourself and practicing again for the (n+1)th time. As this process keeps occurring, God’s truth becomes our goal, God’s passion becomes ours and His righteousness covers us all.

Mission of New Life Fellowship Church:

To establish Christ-centered, Spirit-filled, Bible-based churches that Grow& multiply across nations, so as to transform lives and communities.

We must be –

• Christ -centered, not people-centered.
• Spirit-filled. We may not be there yet, but this should be our road to fulfillment.
• Bible-based, not my-understanding-based. Even though, experience plays apart in our Christian walk, we must make sure that every bit aligns itself accurately with the Word of God.

Our whole point is not to turn people for our gain. To illustrate, look at the vaccine Polio.

UNICEF & WHO knew that the only way to irradiate the deadly, maiming disease would be to vaccinate the whole world. They had the cure, they went to the whole world with it!

If we know that Christ is the only cure for the disease of Sin, then how much more should be we out in the world spreading the vaccine to every soul!

Another illustration would be –

If a man is fallen in a sewer and is crying for help, your first order of things would be to reach out in assistance.

Then, wash the man to remove all the dirt the man has on him. Is it sufficient to remove the dirt outside? Or should we be cleaning the man on the inside also, as there is a possibility that he may have consumed some of the drainage.

It is not enough to remove the man from the sewer, but remove the sewer from the man.

There is a world out there that is helpless and dying with the disease of Sin. We have the cure for mankind – Jesus.

Let us focus not be on our work and family but also in preaching and teaching the world about Jesus. When we die, which is highly evident, only that which is done for Christ will remain.

This should be our mission. To broadly classify and list it out –

• Edify through word, worship, prayer and fellowship
• Equip through discipleship.

This is quite important. Being baptized into the community of the church is a commitment that to follow Jesus. This requires learning in discipleship.

• Envision through intersession, inspiration and impartation.
• Empower by laying of hands and releasing resources.

The church of Electronic City has a God-given mission –

Isaiah 42:6,7

6 I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness,

And will hold Your hand;

I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,

As a light to the Gentiles,

7 To open blind eyes,

To bring out prisoners from the prison,

Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

Notice this –

• “called You in righteousness” – God is the one who equips
• “will hold Your hand; I will keep You” – The profound faithfulness of Him who has called us
• “give You as a covenant to the people” – We are the ambassadors, sent ones
• “light to the Gentiles” – We are the light to expose the darkness
• “open blind eyes, bring out prisoners from the prison” – Our purpose and passion.

Isaiah 61:1

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

Isaiah 60:1-3

1 Arise, shine;

For your light has come!

And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.

2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,

And deep darkness the people;

But the Lord will arise over you,

And His glory will be seen upon you.

3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,

And kings to the brightness of your rising.

The Mission to rebuild the Wall

Nehemiah 1:1-11

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah.

It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel,

2 that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

3 And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

5 And I said: “I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments,

6 please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.

7 We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.

8 Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations;

9 but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’

10 Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand.

11 O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

For I was the king’s cupbearer.

Context –

• “in the twentieth year” – Possibly, Nehemiah was living under the king for 20 years.
• “survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem” – The temple was constructed and a remnant were living there.
• “wall of Jerusalem is also broken down” – The temple was built but no wall around it.

In modern Christianity, there is a form of godliness but no walls. What then is the use of walls?

• We can easily be attacked.
• We have no boundaries
• The world is allowed to mingle with the separated ones.

When there is no wall, our priorities get defined by the world and not by the word.

The church must grow in her –

• Purpose
• Presence
• Persecution

If you notice, all the churches in the world are praying for the same things –

• Unity
• Boldness
• Passion for His Word and His Presence
• Anointing

The church is rendered useless because the walls are broken.

When Nehemiah realized that the walls surrounding the temple in Jerusalem lie crumbing, he did the following.

• Recognize the crumbling walls:

If we are to build walls, we must realize that the walls that exist are broken. People around us have broken walls; in our family, church and across the Entire church.

• Fast & Pray:

The endeavor being undertaken is impossible to complete without God’s hand working through us.

Fasting and praying is mere humbling yourself before God, recognizing the insufficiency and inadequacy of your strength to complete this stupendous task.

Isaiah 41:10

10 Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Our general reaction when faced with the problems of this life is always looking toward and inside yourself, for strength and resolve to face and solve it; this is where we fail!

“Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” – This surely and foundationally removes all subjectivity and allows the consideration of God as the sole proprietor of this task!

Nehemiah didn’t just pray for a day or two.  “mourned for many days” & “I pray before You now, day and night” – This shows the fervor he had for something he recognized he could never accomplish, the passion he had for something he never thought he’d ever see or recognize again.

• Seek forgiveness:

The primary thought of Nehemiah was to seek God’s assistance by weeping for Israel’s sin.

It was the sin of Israel that led to her being destroyed. It was the sin of Israel that Nehemiah repented for. He did not differentiate himself form their sin but took upon himself the sin of his fathers and his nation to pray.

• Remember God’s promises:

“If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.”

This suggests that Nehemiah took God’s promise and stood on it.

Isaiah 55:11,11

10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,

And do not return there,

But water the earth,

And make it bring forth and bud,

That it may give seed to the sower

And bread to the eater,

11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void,

But it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

God’s promises are ever binding and will accomplish that for which it was sent out for. Its His promises and His name is on the line.

• Plan of Action:

“let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer”

Nehemiah had a plan of action. He did not fast and pray with empty hands, but with plans which he laid out before God.

Do you have a plan for what you want to see God accomplish in your lives?

A vision that God has placed in your heart?

Nehemiah was a cup bearer to the king but he wanted to be a civil engineer!

Does your mission and plan look absurd and Impossible? If you are willing, God will lead you to accomplish.

Rom 12:1,2

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

• “by the mercies of God” – It’s by His mercy that God allowed us to be reconciled to Him. It is by his mercy that we can offer our lives as a living sacrifice.
• “present your bodies a living sacrifice” – This is required of every believer; a life of sanctification. A willingness to die to ourselves and a resolve to offer our bodies to Him.
• “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” – Before you want to know the perfect will of God for your life, what are you doing with the revealed will of God – His Word?

God will fulfill His will in your life, when we

• Put ourselves on the altar as a living sacrifice
• Transform our mind and do not conform to any pattern of the World
• Practice the revealed will of God

Start your journey with Obedience to the Word of God, Offer yourself as a living sacrifice and be willing to transform your thinking in accordance to His word.