Back to Basics - Part 5

 This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on July 14th 2024 by Colin. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

We are continuing our study on discipleship. As a recap let’s look at some of the th8ngs we discussed in the previous weeks: 

Matthew 4:19 “ come follow me and I will make you fishers of men” the end result of following Jesus is to become fishers of men. 

What fishing for men means is to become and make disciples. In genesis, God commanded Adam and Eve to fill the earth and subdue it. God wanted the world to be filled with image bearers of God who are in a right relationship with him. He still wants the same. It is repeated at the end of the gospels.

Matthew 28-18-20. “And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."”

There are different stages in this discipleship process

1. Unsaved / spiritually dead. Eph 2:1-5. Without a relationship with Christ we are spiritually dead and the wrath of God is coming upon them. 

2. Infants: when we come to Christ we come as spiritual infants who need a lot of love and care. The sad thing is to stay an infant for a very long time. As we feed ourselves on the word of God and fellowship with the people of God, we grow. 

3. Children: 1 John 2:12 “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.” It’s a good stage to be in but they cannot discern between good and bad. They need more mature believers to correct them and guide them. Children can be very self absorbed. And we can be like that as spiritual children. They need teachings about who they are in Christ and need mature believers to be in fellowship with them and model things to grow. 

4. Young Adult: 1 John 2:13-14 “ …I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one….I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” Young adults can take care of themselves and can take care of others s well. They are beginning to understand that God has called them to be a part of the body of Christ. They are interested in serving others and putting the needs of others first. We must strive to move people from being children to young adults. Gratitude is a great way to stop focusing on ourselves. In the church young adults have a sense of belonging to the church and they’re looking at how to serve and be a blessing. We can characterise which stage of growth we are in by what they do and say. Young adults are spiritually also caring for themselves. They are able to grapple with spiritual things and have a desire for them. 

1. What do young adults need? They need a coach - a spiritual mentor to grow their gifts and sharpen their skills. Training is necessary for great potential to be able to get stuck in a seed form. The coaches will make them do things they might not feel like doing so they can become what they want. They also need deeper relationships and accountability. 

5. Parents: 1 John 2:13-14 “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning... I write to you, fathers because you know him who is from the beginning.” Paul became a spiritual parent to Timothy. You become a parent by giving b

1. Solid understanding of the word of God

2. Good relationship with God 

3. Have great desire to have spiritual children 

“And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.” - ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭25‬:‭21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

You cannot be a parent spiritually without spiritual children. When you want spiritual children you need to pray desperately!

Rachel told Isaac “give me children or I’ll die” “When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I shall die!"” ‭‭- Genesis‬ ‭30‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Parents are not perfect. But parents sacrifice. But as we sacrifice, there is a huge spiritual reward. We all need to have spiritual children we are investing in. Spiritual parents are connected to a family. They are using their God-given abilities to serve people and advance the kingdom. 

“and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” - 2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This is a parental model. Our job is completed when we can see 4 generations. 

How can we put this into practice: 

1. Parents of young children have the primary responsibility of teaching and discipling their children. discipling is modelling. So read the word of god with them. Make sure you’re doing it consistently.

2. If you don’t have spiritual children, make a list of people you have interactions in hand and consistently pray for them. Pray that God would open a door for the message. 

3. Discipleship does not happen alone. It happens when you have strong and deep relationships. 

Our names are written in the lamb's book of Life. Nothing is more important than investing in someone’s soul. Let’s pray.

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 part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.   

Back to Basics - Part 4

 

  This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on July 7th 2024 by Colin. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

Stages of Discipleship

How does transformation take place? You see some ads that promise change if you use their products. 

If you have put your faith in Jesus, there is a transformation that takes place in you.

We have a B.C life and an A.C life - Before Christ and After Christ

Discipleship is the method Jesus used. 

He invested 3 years in the lives of His disciples and then those 12 transformed the world. The end goal of discipleship is to fish for men and women. After the resurrection, Jesus told them to go to all nations. 

The 2 bookends of the gospel are "Come, follow me" and "Go, make disciples".

There are 5 stages in the journey of a disciple. 

1. Unsaved

2. Infant 

3. Child

4. Young Adults

5. Parent

Every believer can go through all 5 stages but not everyone does which is very sad.

Today we're going to look at the first 3 stages. 

1. Unsaved:

These are the people without Christ. They are spiritually dead. 

Ephesians 2:5 - made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

People may come from Christian background but they could be spiritually dead

They are not immature, weak or rich but dead. They are heading towards God's wrath.

Ephesians 2:4 - But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,

Only Christ can make them alive. 

We can identify people at this stage by the words they speak and deeds they do.

Ex: I don't believe there's a God. All gods are one. I don't believe in heaven. 

The spiritually dead people hurt others. They need to hear the gospel. This requires a relationship - someone needs to share the gospel with them. God uses humans as his ambassadors. 

Luke 15:7 - I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Romans 10:15 - And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!

Are we investing in the people who are not saved? They need to see the life of Jesus in us. They need answers to questions and a clear explanation of the gospel when the time comes. 

2. Infant:

The moment a person comes to faith he reaches this stage. People at this stage repent of their sins, believe that Jesus is the Lord and Saviour. 

1 Corinthians 3:1 - Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.

John 3:5 - Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again

There's a great rejoicing when a baby is born. 

There's a great rejoicing in heaven when there's born born-again Christian. 

Just as babies need milk and care, spiritual babies need spiritual food and care. They don't know anything. 

We know people at this stage when they are - 

* New Born Again Christian

* Born Again but even after many years, there's no spiritual growth

Heb 5:12-14 - 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Eph 4:14 - Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

* They can't discern what spiritual food to eat. They may get misled if there's no guidance.

Signs:

Mixed up philosophies, demanding, all about themselves, only consumers.

They may say things like - I didn't know the Bible said this. Tithing? What's that? 

I don't need anyone. It's just Jesus and me. 

I thought Jesus would fix everything for me.

They need someone to care for and feed them so that they survive and grow. They need protection and guidance.

There's no shame in whatever stage we're in but we must move to the next stage. 

Christian faith is to be taught and modelled for them

They must develop new habits and develop right patterns

3. Child:

Children are more advanced than the infants. 

1 John 2:12 - I am writing to you, dear children,

    because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.

John refers to children, young men and fathers. 

1 Thessalonians 2:10 - 12 - 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

1 Thessalonians 2:7 - 8 - 7 Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.

They need encouragement, comfort, urging.

Spiritual children may attend church and also serve, but they are self-centred. 

They need a relationship and identity in Christ. They need to learn to feed themselves. They also need a parent to teach and guide them. 

Ex: maybe I should try another Church for my needs, didn't like the music, nobody says hi, nobody calls me, the pastor doesn't care for me, nobody appreciates me and so I quit.

Young Adults and Parents have seen God's plan and are willing to invest in others, help grow and advance God's Kingdom. We all need discipleship because we want to get better.

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 part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.   

BACK TO BASICS – PART 3

  

Colin preached This message at Word Of Grace Church on June 30th 2024. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

 BACK TO BASICS – PART 3

When you walk through these doors, you become a prospect of becoming a disciple.

Matt 28:18-20 The call of every Christ follower is to be a disciple and make disciples.

WHAT DOES A DISCIPLE LOOK LIKE?

The Word disciple is used 270 times, and the word Christian is used only thrice in the New Testament.

Who are called Christians? Acts 11:19

Most of the followers of Jesus witnessed the Jews, but some also spoke to the Gentiles, and they were saved. When the Apostles realised this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to work with them. (v22-23)

V25 – Paul and Barnabas taught them for a whole year. Let us look at the calling of the first disciples. The calling of the first disciples is in all the four gospels. The most detailed is in Mark 1:16-20.

Mk4:19 – The calling of Simon and Andrew

Lk 5:1—The Lake of Gennesaret (the same as the Sea of Galilee and Tiberias). Jesus was already preaching and gathering a crowd. He sat in Simon and Andrew’s boat to preach. In Lk 4:38, Jesus went to Simon’s house and healed his mother-in-law. So, Simon and Andrew were aware of Jesus’ preaching and healing.

Lk 5:4—Jesus tells Simon to put his boat out into the deep for a catch. In V5, you see Simon’s faith and respect for Jesus: “Because you say so, I will let down the nets.” This is the key—when we act on God’s word in belief, we will see results.

V6. Their nets began to break, and then the overloaded boats began to sink. When Simon saw this amazing catch, he realized that it was the ‘finger of God,’ and he fell at Jesus’ feet.

This is the prayer we need to make in our lives: I want you to work in my life so that people around me will see and say, ‘This is the finger of God’ in my life, and God gets the glory.

V8 Simon realised who Jesus is and who he is compared to Jesus.

Have you had that revelation and understanding of who Jesus is?

V10-11—From now on, you will catch men. And they left their nets and followed him. Here, we see the disciples' first call.

 

THREE THINGS THAT DEFINE A DISCIPLE.

1.  FOLLOW ME – We accept Jesus as our Lord, i.e. ‘ You are the boss, and I will do whatever you want me to do’.

Peter made a mental decision first. Jn12:26 ‘Whoever serves me must follow me. My father will honour the one who serves me’.

Jn 14:23-24- If anyone loves me, he will obey my teachings.

The willingness to follow Jesus is evidence of our love for Him. Matt 16:24. If anyone will come after me, deny themselves, take up your cross, and come follow me.”

 

2. AND I WILL MAKE YOU

This speaks of a heart transformation. Jesus takes imperfect people and conforms them to the image of Christ.

Rom8:29, 2 Cor 3:17-18 We are transformed from one degree of glory to another.

Jesus had a vision for their lives. Simon went from a reed to a rock.

Lk 9:54-55 James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven. Jesus took these rough guys and transformed them. Later in his life, John was called the apostle of love.

Think of your own life – is there transformation that you need? The question to ask is, are you following Him?

‘I will make you’—This is a transformation of the heart. John, who wanted to call down fire from heaven, became the apostle of love.

Transformation comes through the Holy Spirit, the Holy Word, and the Holy and Unholy people God places in our lives.

Jn 15:1-2 The Father cuts what is dead in our lives and prunes what is growing well for better growth.

Gal 5:23 The fruit of the Spirit must grow in our lives. When our hearts desire change, we know that we are being transformed.

 

3. FISHERS OF MEN

When we decide to follow Jesus, our hearts and actions change. We fish for men, and we have a purpose in our lives.

Matt 16:26 What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?

A true disciple lives to catch men and women for Jesus.

2 Cor 5:15-20 We live for Him who died for us. v17 If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation… and we have been given the ministry of reconciliation, and we are Christ’s ambassadors.

Our life’s mission is to seek and save the lost, just as Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

How many people in the church are actively involved in soul-winning? We all need to be faithful disciples of Jesus.

Matt 16:27 The He will reward each person according to his actions”.

 

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 part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.   

  This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on June 23rd 2024 by Colin. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

Why Give?

When we meet someone for the first and introduce ourselves, but we don’t ask how much they earn. Even in church, nobody is comfortable in discussing money. Through the scriptures we see that Jesus spoke a lot about money and possessions. Scholars found out that 15% of what Jesus spoke was about money. So, money must be important.

Every year we take a special offering across RB churches in all nations and everyone participates in this. So blessed by the ones in Word of Grace church who have been giving like Macedonians.

Let us look at God’s Word and stir our hearts.

Mark 14:1 – 11

We see 4 anointings of Jesus with perfume. In Luke, it was early in His ministry. In Mark, it was towards the end of His life. Only in John, it tells us that it was Mary.

John 12:3 - Then Mary took about a pint^[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

It happened in the house of Simon the leper. Probably he was a leper but was healed by Jesus. He opened his house for Jesus and His disciples.

What happened before that was that Lazarus died and Jesus raised him to life after 4 days. The family was thrilled. People came from different places to see Lazarus. This is the setting – they were close to the Passover; Lazarus was raised to life in Bethany.

At this setting, Mary, sister of Lazarus comes with an alabaster jar filled with pure nard which is worth a year’s wages. This perfume is very precious and expensive. We use perfume using a spray. Just a little is enough for the fragrance. Nobody pours the whole perfume over someone. But Mary broke down the jar and poured it on Jesus.

Looking at this, the disciples used the word “indignantly”. It is a strong word to use. It can be used to describe the bull’s snorting during the bull fight in Spain. The disciples rebuked her harshly. The disciples were calculating with their minds, but Mary calculated with her heart. She didn’t count the cost. She loved Jesus. She was showing her gratitude towards Jesus who raised her brother to life.

Mark 14:6 - ⁶ “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

Jesus stood up for Mary when the disciples rebuked her. Jesus also said that what Mary had done was a beautiful thing.

Jesus was worth more than this because of what he was willing to do. If only the disciples knew that.

When we give, we give before the judge of the universe. What He thinks about our giving is important.

When Jesus died, there was no time for embalming him as Sabbath was approaching. There was only one opportunity for embalming and Mary took that opportunity.

John 12:7 - ⁷ “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.

Mark 14: 10-11 - ¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. ¹¹ They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

Later, Judas took the opportunity to betray Him but Mary took the opportunity to embalm him.

Matthew 26:48 - ⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” ⁴⁹ Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.

Mary’s act of devotion was love and Judas’ act of devotion was betrayal.

God has blessed us abundantly.

The perfume that was offered was for Jesus’ body. The gift day offering is for the body of Christ – church. Worship is more than singing. It is a sacrifice.

As we prepare our hearts, let us think – Who would I want to be? Mary or Judas?

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 part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.   

Father's Day

 This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on June 16th 2024 by Colin. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

Father's Day

Origin of Father’s Day – A lady who lost her mother was listening to a sermon on Mother’s Day. After her mother’s death, her dad took care of her very well. She wanted to honour her father and thus celebrating Father’s Day began.

We all know that God is our Father. He revealed himself to us as Father. God was revealed as a loving Father in the Old Testament and New Testament. All of us are familiar with the Lord’s prayer. It starts with “Our Father”. The God who created everything is powerful and a loving Father. We are His sons and daughters. Jesus came to this Earth to reveal His Father. In the parable of Prodigal Son, we see that even though his younger son took his share, spent away everything, and came back to his father, out of love and grace, he was accepted by his father.

In the Bible, it is written that we must honour our fathers. We must honour all the elders but especially fathers. We are called to honour and respect our parents. Train your children to respect their elders.

We must thank God for fathers. One of the greatest problems in the world is fatherlessness. Let us look at some of the main responsibilities of a father.

1.        Provide for children

If you have the ability, you must provide for your children. In slum areas, we see that the men get drunk, gamble, smoke and don’t work. It is the women who go to different houses to work had and provide for the family.

1 Timothy 5:8 - Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

2.        Protect the family

John 17:12 - While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by^[c] that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

Jesus protected his disciples. WE must protect our children too.

Disciplining them is a part of protecting them. We must protect their character, values and future. Don’t dump everything on your wife. It is your responsibility too.

3.        Instruction and Example

Ephesians 6:4 - Fathers,^[b] do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Start training your children at an early age. A part of the instruction is an example.

If we instruct them to read the Bible and pray, we should be doing that too. Schools and churches are only to support the children. The primary responsibility lies in the hands of the parents.

·        Teach them courtesy, honour, giving, serving, respect, handling conflict, help them to cast their burdens on Christ.

·        Love them. Children are looking for love, affection and affirmation. Mothers do it more. Fathers must do it too.

4.        Leave an inheritance

Proverbs 13:22 - A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

Let us look what we can leave as an inheritance for our children.

a)        Convictions, beliefs, philosophies

Genesis 18:19 - For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”

We must keep the way of the Lord. Generation after generation, we must follow God’s ways. So, spend time with your children by telling them bible stories, sharing the gospel and pray for them

b)       Name

Here “name” is reputation, credibility, track record.

Genesis 12:2 - “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

c)        Relationships

The world functions on relationships. We must pass on our relationships to our children,

d)       Physical assets

Cash, property, gold etc., are all physical assets. Do not be biased when it comes to son and daughter. Leave behind equal assets for all the children. Daughters are as valuable as sons. Make a will and keep it ready.

There are no perfect fathers in the Bible. To be a godly father, we need the grace of God and strength of God.

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 part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.