Gifts Of The Holy Spirit - Part 1

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on January 16th 2022  by Colin D via zoom. For the audio & video please click here.  To listen to the worship please click here.

GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - An introduction

 

Have you met a person without hands? We had a neighbour without hands. How does he drink his coffee? With his feet. Thank God our bodies are well.

When we think of the church- the church is like our human body

Rom12:4-6

You and I are different parts of the body with different functions. When we come together, we come together as the body of Christ.

Now when we come together it can be that you have a role to play and do not play it. Then it is like that man without hands

My role is to help you see that you have a role and that is it important and that you play it well.

What is this role? These are called Spiritual Gifts.

We may have heard about this. This morning is teaching to understand what God’s word has to say about this. It would be a tragedy if we have members of the body not doing what they are supposed to do.

We love to watch a gymnast – but that gymnast can do all those beautiful moves because his full body is in sync and every limb in his body is doing its part.

I attended a John Wimber seminar 35 years ago when in college. I was baptized in the Holy Spirit and became aware of the gifts.

And in the days that followed, we used to seek God in our house groups. And we practised the gifts and sought God for the gifts.

God told me that I had the gift of preaching, teaching, leading. And the leader confirmed it. And in the years on we have seen that it has come to pass. The same thing can happen to you.

 

WHAT IS OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD GIFTS? What does the Bible say?

1. Do not be ignorant – I Cor 12:1

2. Do not neglect your gift….1 Tim4:14 –

3. We are called to develop the gift and use it.

How did timothy get this gift – through a prophetic message when the Elders laid hands on him.

There is an impartation.

4. Eagerly desire the greater gifts 1Cor 12:31 –

Do we desire the greater gifts? That is something we must do.

1Cor. 14:1 – Follow the way of love --- especially the gift of prophecy. Wasn’t it wonderful to see the prophetic flow this morning?

So don’t be ignorant – study about the gifts. If you don’t have a gift, ask for someone to lay hands on you so that you may get the gifts.

 

II – CHARACTERISTICS

Diff gifts but the same spirit. 1Cor 12:4 –They are diverse. The analogy is the body is made up of diff parts.

These gifts are given by the Holy Spirit for the common good.

It is a gift you have to steward 1Cor 12:7. The gift is for someone else's good or benefit – that the church of Jesus would be blessed, and the kingdom will advance.

In Acts we see the word of God come and then the power of God accompanies it

The whole Trinity is involved in the gifts 1Cor 12:6 – Diff gifts, diff service, diff working but one God.

Gifts- HS

Service – Jesus

Working – God

 

The HS gives us these gifts 1 Cor 12:11. He gives it to us as he determines

 

III – WHAT ARE THE DIFF GIFTS

There are 3 main passages

1Cor 12:8-10 Wisdom, knowledge faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy…….

This section lists 9 gifts – these are gifts of revelation, vocal, power gifts.

1Cor 12:27 – 30 lists more gifts.

Eph. 4:11-13 – Christ gives these gifts APEST. V12 – to equip people to works of service so that the whole body will be built up

Rom 12:3-8

One body with many members. Many in Christ we form one body.

Acts 2:17 – I will pour out my Spirit

Prophecy, dreams, visions.

There are a whole variety of gifts that we can develop for the common good.

 

HOW DO THESE GIFTS WORK IN THE CHURCH?

We know the Holy Spirit gives the gifts.

We are one body 1Cor 12:12 –. The hand does not say I am great. It is great only when it is connected to the body. In a football team no matter how gifted a player he needs a team.

How did we become one body? 1Cor 12:13 –When we are baptized in the Spirit we become one body. At water baptized you are baptized by a person in the water. Here you are bap by the HS and immersed into the body of Christ.

You are the body of Christ 1 Cor 12: 27 - and each part does its part.

God has uniquely arranged us V18 – just as He wanted them to be. Your role is unique. You may think your role is small. It is unique and necessary. God has placed you there and you need to value it.

David says I would rather be a doorkeeper…

WE need one another 1 Cor 12:21 – The head cannot say to the eye I don’t need you. We need one another – you are important. Maybe you are the hands at WOG and you are not on the scene. WOG is losing out.

We are interconnected – You know that when you have a toothache you cannot think of anything else but that.

1Cor 12:24-25. If one part suffers all suffer. If one part is honoured all are honoured.

We are distinct individuals but interconnected. Are you interconnected with the body or are you living separated and isolated?

The Gyms are a great way to stay connected. There is a great diff bet a pile of bricks and bricks arranged and cemented together to form a wall. There is great strength in that.

This happens through the community where our lives are connected to one another. Together we are strong

WHERE ARE WE GOING WITH THIS?

FIND your gift- Ignorance is not bliss. Read through these lists and ask God. You can have more than one gift.

If you desire something, ask God. One way to find out your gift is by asking your leader what they have observed about you. Sometimes we think we have a gift, but we don’t. Ask people who know you and will be honest with you.

FAN into flame 2 Tim1:6 Paul is telling Timothy to fan into flame. Develop it. I have the gift of preaching and teaching. I read and study a lot about it. How can you take it to the next level?

FAITHFUL – when you know what your gift is you need to exercise it faithfully. We will have workshops and activation sessions. We will teach on it and prophecy.

FRUITFUL – As we fan it into flame, God will use us greatly to be a blessing to many others. WE want to see our Sunday meetings full of the gifts of the Spirit.

 

You are privileged to be a part of the body of Christ. ARE you hindering the body by not playing your part? It is your responsibility to play your part. AT WOG we want to see each one grow. But it is your desire.

 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.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go For Growth

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on January 9th 2022  by Colin D via zoom. For the audio & video please click here.  To listen to the worship please click here.

them.

In life, everything living grows. The tables and chairs don’t grow. Jesus also grew. In Luke 2: 6 “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born”. In verse 21 “On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus,” verse 40 “And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him”.

Verse 42 “When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom” Here we see Jesus’ growth. In verse 52 “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man”. We see that Jesus grew mentally, physically, spiritually and relationally.

 

Jesus is a perfect 10. We are all at a 5. If we want to grow, there is something we need to do. What can we do to move from a 5-6?

 

IMPRESS

 

P – Physically

Physical growth is important. 1 Cor 6:19 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” Jesus places a high emphasis

 

Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We need to take care of our bodies. We can make jokes about dieting etc.

 

1.      Each of us needs to exercise. What can you do to keep God’s temple in good shape?

2.      We need to diet! Be careful what you ingest. Eat veggies protein and fats

3.      Fasting! Apart from spiritual benefits it has physical benefits.  Fasting is very healthy as well

 

commit to do these things to take me from 5-6

 

M - Mentally

 

There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Leaders are readers. We need to grow that muscle. When was the last time you read a book? As we read, we grow in our God given capacity to think

Fill our mind with Knowledge, learn something new. Find something to learn and grow your mind. We also need to fill our mind with God’s word. 2 Chr 1:7-12 “That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

⁸ Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. ⁹ Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰ Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

¹¹ God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, ¹² therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”

Let’s be a people who ask for wisdom. Commit to doing something to grow your mind.

S- Spiritually

God has made us to have a relationship with him. We grow spiritually is by knowing about God and knowing God.

Acts 19:11-16 “¹¹ God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, ¹² so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.¹³ Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” ¹⁴ Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. ¹⁵ One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” ¹⁶ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.”

Let’s desire to be like Jesus and Paul and make a name for ourselves in the spiritual realm. The way to foster is through spiritual disciplines – spending time in prayer, feeding ourselves the word of God etc.

Commit to doing something to grow spiritually.

R – Relational

We are relational beings created by a relational God. Examine the relationships in your life. Leadership is influence. We need to get along to go along. The foundation of leadership is to love people.

Relationships are where we demonstrate our love one for another. We have relationships all around us. Relationships need to be transformational. Look to build relationships all the time.  Jesus grew in favour with God but he also grew in favour with man.

What is one thing you can do over the next 30 days to grow in your relationship with someone in your life?

E- Emotionally

Emotional growth is important because feelings are important. We need to have self awareness and self management when it comes to feelings. Most major decisions we make are made based on feelings. People get married, buy a house, join or leave a church etc. based on feelings. We need to know how other people are experiencing us. Feelings control our relationships.

When Jesus was at Lazarus’ tomb, he wept. Mark 1:14 “14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Jesus controlled his emotions and pressed on in the kingdom pursuit.

S- Succession

We are not going to live on this earth forever. So when we move on who can I pass things on to in whatever you are doing.

2 Tim 2:2 “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others”

The kingdom is all about succession. The very sad thing is we pass away without passing on. So think about who you can invest in to pass on whatever you do.

What can you pass on? Who can you pass on to?

I – Income & Finance

Jesus spoke more about money than he spoke about heaven or hell. How can we grow in managing our income, expenditure, saving, Insurance and giving.

Make sure that you have a life insurance and term insurance.

Giving – plan out your giving just as you plan to save. Aim to be generous. God’s blessing just flows into our lives as we give. Give generously and abundantly.

Put down things you can do to get more healthy in your finances.

We have looked at 7 dimensions of our blueprint for 2022. Let’s put that in practice.

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

The Gifts Of Advent

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on December 12th  2021 by Navaz D via zoom. For the audio & video please click here.  To listen to the worship please click here.

them.

 

Luke 8:14 NIV - The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures, and they do not mature.

 

We should not let life’s worries, riches and pleasures choke the word we receive from the Lord. We should be doers of the Word and not just hearers of Word.

 Luke 6:46-49 NIV - 46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like.48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

 

Luke 8:4 NIV - While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable:

 Luke 8:9 NIV - His disciples asked him what this parable meant

 Disciples received the meaning of the parable because they sought it.

Everything in the bible is not plainly revealed to everyone. Many of the things are revealed when we seek its meaning diligently with the help of Holy Spirit.

 Proverbs 25:2 TPT - God conceals the revelation of his word in the hiding place of his glory. But the honor of kings is revealed by how they thoroughly search out the deeper meaning of all that God says.

 God is pleased when we diligently seek and find the deep things hidden in His word. God wants us to value His word and do them. He does not want to give pearls to pigs. Mary treasured the words that God spoke about Jesus through Angel to Shepherds.

 

Luke 2:18-19 NIV - 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 

 We should value God’s word. Not only His words from the bible. But also, when God speaks through dreams, visions, and prophetic words of other believers provided you feel it is from God and does not contradict His written word.

 Application - Words written in the Bible doesn’t have power unless we open them, read them, understand them, do them and persevere. We should be diligent seekers of God’s word.

Remember – Seekers Finders. Finders Keepers.

 

2. Seek God’s presence.

 John 1:38 NKJV - 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”

 These disciples wanted to know Jesus and to fellowship with Him. They were seeking His presence.

 Psalms 105:4 AMP - Seek and deeply long for the Lord and His strength [His power, His might]; Seek and deeply long for His face and His presence continually.

 1 Corinthians 3:16 says Spirit of God dwells inside us. Then why should a new testament believer seek God’s presence?

It is the manifested presence of God that we are seeking. If we say we love God and does not seek His presence, then there is something wrong.

 James 4:8a NIV - Come near to God and He will come near to you.

 Application - We should have intimate alone time with Him seeking His presence, hearing His voice, Adoring Him, Thanking Him, Praising Him, Worshiping Him. Not as a religious duty. Not to receive something. But because we are a people whom He loves so much and has already blessed so much.

 

3. Seek God’s church.

 When we diligently seek God’s word and God’s presence, we will become people after God’s heart. God’s heart is for His church.

 Matthew 16:18 NIV - And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

 Jesus came to build His church. Church is not a building we go to. Church is not a club or an organisation where we take membership. The Greek of the word ‘Church’ used here means ‘Assembly’, ‘Congregation’. We, the body of Christ are actually His Church (Col 1:18, 1 Cor 12:27).

 How do we seek God’s church?

 (i)                 By assembling

 We are an assembly. So, we should assemble. We should meet together and build each other.

 Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV - 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

 Application – We should not give up meeting together. We should attend Sunday meetings and at least MicroGYM meetings if not other meetings during the week and encourage one another.

 (ii)               By joining.

 Assembling is not enough. There should be a joining of minds.

 1 Corinthians 11:17 NIV  - In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 

Paul said the meetings of Corinthians do more harm than good.

 We should seek to build relationship with each other. We should love one another, help one another, encourage one another, forgive one another, comfort one another, bear one another’s burden and do all the other [one another]’s in the bible. These are the true expressions of loving one another. We should seek joining of minds.

 God wants His children to live together in unity. This is what gives the Father immense joy, and this is where His blessings flow.

Psalms 133:1-3 NIV - 1 How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

 If we do not live together then there is no question of unity. Unity is not tested when we don’t live together. Unity is not absence of conflicts or disagreement. Unity is when we manage conflicts in godly way agreeing to disagree for the kingdom purpose loving one another forgiving each other having one mind. When arguments or fights do happen see what you have to change instead of seeing what others have to change.

 Application – Call people if you cannot meet them because of COVID especially those who live alone, offer help to those who are in trouble. Send food to those who are sick. Forgive others when they hurt you. Give to others what you would like to receive from others.

 (iii)             By witnessing.

 We should partner with God in expansion of His church by sharing Gospel.

 Jesus asked us to ‘GO’ and make disciples (Matthew 28:19 NIV)

 

We ‘GO’ when we understand the great commission from His word and seek to do it. We ‘GO’ with His great power when we spend quality time in His presence.

 Application – Invite your non-believer friends and family to Christmas Carols evening. Do not worry whether they will accept. Inviting is your part. Leave rest to God. Seek for opportunity to share Gospel with others. Pray for opening of doors.

Conclusion

When we seek God’s word and His presence, we get to know Kingdom values and Kingdom purpose. Advent like I said in the beginning means coming. Jesus came first time 2000 years on a Christmas night for us. But Jesus is also coming second time on a day we don’t know. But He is coming for sure with our rewards that matter in eternity. So, let’s not be people with myopic vision. But people who has a vision of eternity.

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 8. CONCLUDING PART

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on December 5th  2021 by Navaz D via zoom. For the audio & video please click here.  To listen to the worship please click here.

CREATING A COUNTERCULTURE PART 8. CONCLUDING PART

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:10

 

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-down, inside out Kingdom.

 

Actually, Jesus came to turn his Kingdom from the right side up and lived from the inside -out. The Pharisees had turned it upside down and corrupted the beautiful law of the Lord.

I was thinking about this. How did David love the law of the Lord so much that he wrote amazing psalms around it? In fact, the longest Psalm 119, is a tribute to the Law of God. Surely it could not have been so bad!!! It was the interpretation and practice of it that was messed up.

It’s like someone using a Ferrari as a waggon being pulled by 2 bulls. It is a complete misuse and abuse of a beautiful car. Till the maker of the car comes along and shows you how to use it. He unhinges the car and shows them its proper use.

So, let’s dive into today’s concluding verse in this series. And it is a timely word given the season in which we are living.

Remember we said the Beatitudes cannot be understood nor practised in isolation of each other. They build upon each one another.

Notice that the beatitudes have a progression. 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. Those who seek righteousness will cultivate a pure heart and want to bring peace in every situation.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.

True happiness, the blessing of God and favour come from living in the right relationship with Him and in the right manner with people. When we fulfil the law of God we are truly blessed.

The first 7 are about what is expected of a Christian who is living our Kingdom culture.

The last one tells you what will happen to you when you want to be Christ-like!!! Any takers? This is the litmus test. If we are living up to the other 7, the eighth one will follow. Will we give up the standard of Kingdom culture to avoid being persecuted?

Blessed are the persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

I like the way Jesus is not careless with His words. HE is very clear who is blessed and why.

2. WHAT PERSECUTION IS NOT.

·       Now if we do something foolish we are not blessed. Even if it is a Christian thing. We are to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

We must be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks. And our speech needs to be seasoned with salt. Our deeds must speak more than our words. Let your love provoke the questions asking about the hope you enjoy.

·       Do not be offensive in your language toward other people’s faith.

·       Do not force people to do things against their conviction.

·       Do not provoke the authorities by being brash or obnoxious. The church in China and South Korea survived and flourished because they learned to be wise as serpents. If you are living the beatitudes right, trust me you will face persecution. Why? Am I not living a good life?

Exactly for that reason. Light and darkness have nothing in common. We come from not only two different but opposing kingdoms. Our new nature in Christ is offensive and a stench in the nostrils of some.

As Paul warned in 2 Timothy 3:12, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Peter told his readers, “Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you . . . as though some strange thing were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).

Remember is it persecuted because of Christ i.e when we live like Him and do what He tell us to do.

 

3.     WHAT IS RIGHTEOUS LIVING?

It is living according to the Word of God.  There is a difference between being self-righteous and righteous for Christ’s sake. Self-righteous is when we think we are right and feel we need to defend our convictions.

 Righteousness for Christ’s sake is the qualifier. Not every moral person who is persecuted is blessed in this manner. Righteousness for Christ’s sake may sometimes mean letting go of your ego or the issue because in that situation love is the greater motive. That is why we need to always walk in step with the Holy Spirit and abide in His Word to understand what the will of the Lord is.

Putting the sermon on the mount into practice is not easy. We are asked to love our enemy, to pray for those who hate us and to bless those who curse us. This is counterculture. The Kingdom of God is not about entitlement, my rights etc. It is about laying down your life.

 

WHAT DOES PERSECUTION LOOK LIKE ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS?

Not everyone will be called to be a martyr or go to jail etc. Yet our convictions are challenged daily. And we need to learn to grow strong in our convictions by taking a stand in small steps.

·       At work –Doing what is asked without fudging anything even if team members are pressurizing you to do it. What will you do?

·       Those white lies you are asked to tell to cover up for deadlines missed

·       When the boss has it in for you when you work hard but want to establish a work life balance and log off on time so you can spend time with your family. Your promotion is denied.

·       When family taunt you for your faith or threaten to disown you.

“If you have run with men on foot and they have made you tired, then how can you run as fast as horses? ( Jer 12:5)

 

4. WHY DO YOU GET PERSECUTED?

Why would anyone have something against a meek person? Against someone who shows mercy, or the pure in heart or for that matter a peacemaker? It does not make sense.

Two responses to righteous living –

It can provoke someone to want to know the hope to which you are called.

Or

It can provoke persecution because they cannot deal with their guilty conscience. So, they blame you for making them feel the way they do.

When people love their evil lifestyle or choices or something false, they need to justify that love. And then they need to demonize you because unless they do that, they can’t hate you. So, they begin to believe false things about you to justify their hate. This is the root cause of persecution.

In church when you confront sin, people lash out at you. Don’t expect everyone to applaud your sacrifice. You did not do it for them. If you live for the praises of men, you will die by their criticism.

I would ask this question today – Have you been persecuted for righteousness’s sake. Be careful how you answer this? Sometimes we can be right, but our actions are so wrong that it invites brickbats. But if people have never noticed that you are different then you need to examine yourself. We are in this World but not of its values and systems.

God has given us His holy spirit to strengthen us, encourage and comfort us, guide and lead us into all truth. His Holy Spirit is the divine power that gives us the strength to say no to sin and yes to ungodly choices.

Examples of righteous living that got persecuted

·       Abel was killed by Cain

·       David was hunted by Saul

·       Uriah was murdered by David

·       Elijah by Jezebel

·       Daniel and his friends

·       The apostles

·       Foxes Book of Martyrs

·       Chinse church and elsewhere.

·        

5.  CONCLUSION: HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND TO PERSECUTION?

How do we display our kingdom culture? Firstly, do not go seeking persecution.

V11 says we are blessed when people falsely accuse us and slander us. We need to rejoice and be glad because we suffer the same fate as Jesus. No servant is greater than his Master.

We must bless them, pray for them, do good to them.

Remind yourself that these troubles are but for a while. (2 Cor 4:17) There is a crown that awaits all those who persevere till the end. We do not stand alone. We have 1000s stand beside us cheering us on – the great cloud of witnesses. (Heb 12:1)

The promise is the Kingdom of heaven – here and now and in the age to come.

 There is persecution at the individual level and then as the church. If you have been reading the posts Colin sends now and then you will see that the kind of persecution the early church faced is not unknown to us. Many churches and pastors are being persecuted for their faith here in our country and around the world.

Let’s pray for the persecuted church now.

By being salt and light (v13) We preserve society and prevent its decay

We are asked to rejoice and be exceedingly glad because we have a reward in heaven waiting for us.

 The Christian calling is a great one. It is the highest and the most challenging one you will ever have to live up to.

 All of us have a Christian calling – to live to glorify Jesus. And if we are children then we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. ( Rom 8:17)

Kingdom culture is God’s will for the earth. Your kingdom comes you will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is what we are asked to pray for. And it will come as you and I usher it in by our lifestyle and our practice.

Over the last few weeks, we took you through what it is to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be meek, to hunger and thrust for righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to be a peacemaker.

How has this teaching challenged and changed you? Ask God to show you how. He will strengthen you, guide you and lead you.

 

 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.