Prepare for Jesus return | Colin D

This message was preached by Colin Dcruz at Word of Grace Church on  January 6th 2019. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

PREPARE FOR JESUS

  

What is 2019? It is 2019 years after Christ’s resurrection. Now, we are awaiting Christ’s return.

Matt 24:3-9 –

Time is not circular. It’s linear and heading to an end. What is in the past is gone. One day, Jesus will return and take those who belong to him to heaven. Those who don’t go to heaven will go to hell. That is the worst thing because there is no turning back. Today, if you fail in something you have hope to pass. But after death, there is no changing anything.

Heb 9:27 – Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgement

In chapter 24 of Matthew, Jesus goes into a discourse on what will happen when he returns.

Birth pains are not the arrival of a baby. So rumours of wars, earthquakes etc. are only signs of what is to come.

1.      What can we look for with for with surety that we are close? Look at verse 14 – The gospel will be preached to every people group. The gospel is not just for Christians but for everybody. Revelations say – from every tribe, tongue, and nation.

2.      Some try to predict the second coming of Jesus

Matt 24:36 – “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

No one knows that day or the hour when the Son is coming. Don’t listen to anyone who tries to predict.

But we know how he will come. If you know a thief will come to your house, you will be alert.

Matt 24:42 – “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

The son of man will come at an hour we do not expect. We need to be ready.

In Matt chapter 5, Jesus gives us 3 parables that talk about his coming and how we should be ready.

This is what his coming will be like. He gives us some clues. Do you think it important? He tells us 4 times.

The parable of the 10 virgins:

10 virgins with lamps were waiting for the bridegroom. 5 of them had extra oil and the other 5 didn’t have. When the bridegroom came 5 were unprepared and had to go to the market. Thus they missed the banquet. The door was shut. The other 5 who were prepared got to go to the banquet.

Jesus is coming back. Are you prepared for His return? Have you put your faith in Jesus?

Acts 4:12 – Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.

Salvation is found in no other name. Today is the day for salvation. If you have done it, then you need to get baptized.

The parable of talents:

Then in verse 14, he tells them the parable of the talents. With the virgins, they had to be prepared. Here, a businessman gave his servants 5 talents, 2 talents and 1 talent. He gave to each one of them according to his ability. The expectation was that you put it to work and multiply it. When the master came back, he wanted to settle accounts. Verse 21 says –

The one with 5 made 5 more

The one with 2 made 2 more

The one with 1 did nothing

When Jesus returns, he will demand an account of our talents, opportunities that we were given. If we are faithful, much more will be given. The one talent man was scolded for being wicked and lazy.

Verse 28 says that there is the same punishment for the person who did nothing. Theologians say that this person is not a believer.

At the end of the day, you need to be productive. Thank God for what you have and ask God to help you to do something. Don’t worry. Start small.

What are you doing to be productive?

Sheep and Goats:

Jesus is pressing in his point. He will come back and there will be judgment.

Verse 34 says that there are huge rewards in store. Anything we do and bless someone, we do it unto Jesus.

Verse 44 says when we don’t serve the least; it’s like not serving Jesus.

A follower of Christ will have a desire to do good.  As we begin in 2019, we are one year closer to Jesus’s return. You be prepared, productive and perform.

To advance the Kingdom, we have to share the gospel.

Our tagline is Enjoying God, Making friends, Changing lives.

Enjoying God:

Have a deep relationship with Jesus. Is your relationship deepening? What can I do to deepen it? Take steps to grow. Get YouVersion on your phones.

Part of enjoying God is fellowship. We should have a hunger for God’s presence and to be with his people.

Making friends:

1 John 4:7 – Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God

John talks about loving one another. God’s nature is love and he wants it to be demonstrated here. How do we do it?

Make friends in the church is of high value.

Have lunch on Sunday afternoon with someone from church. Deepen your relationships. It is a rich, new and rewarding experience.

Be a part of a GYM group this year

Be a part of one of the different serving teams. We demonstrate our love by serving one another

Changing lives:

Jesus will only come back when the gospel is preached to all. Will you be a labourer in the Lord’s harvest field? This year, can you tell someone about Jesus? Jesus will touch their hearts. At the IDT, you will learn how to share the gospel.

In this 2019, will you think about how you can grow in these 3 areas?

Your relationship with God

Your friendships in the church

Reaching out to the lost

You will not change just one life but maybe a whole family and generations to come.

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. 

MARRIAGE

This message was preached by Colin Dcruz at Word of Grace Church on  January 6th 2019. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

When you get a new gadget, what do you do? Do you just open it up and start using it right away? Or do you go through the manual? Usually, men hate to go through the manual. For us to know about a gadget and to use it correctly, we need to go through the manual that is prepared by the person who actually created the gadget.

Similarly, for us to know about marriage and to take it further successfully, we need a manual. We need a manual from the one that has created marriage. That is God! And the manual is the Bible. We get all our instructions from the Bible.

The Bible starts with marriage (between Adam and Eve) and ends with marriage (between Christ and the Church). And in between, there are many other marriages.

Marriage is very important to God.

We can see 8 ‘M’ s in the book of Genesis.

1.      Marvellous

Gen 1:1-31 – All through the first chapter of Genesis, we see that God created everything through his word – just by speaking. Every time he created something, he said that it was good. In total God said “it is good” 6 times in the first chapter.

2.      Man

Gen 2:7 – Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Though God created the entire creation through his word, he created man in a different way. He used his hands to fashion man in His own image.

3.      Mission

Gen 2:15 – The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

This means the man should not be idle but be productive. He should work and take care of the garden.

4.      Missing

Though God made everything, he found out that something was missing.

Gen 2:18 – The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Knowing that it is not good for the man to be alone, God decided to make a helper that is suitable for him.

5.      Miss

Gen 2:21-22 – So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

Though God sent all the birds and animals to Adam to name them, he didn’t find any suitable helper. That’s when God made Adam fall into a deep sleep, took out one of his ribs and made woman out of it and brought her to the man.

Gen 2:23 – The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called ‘Woman’, for she was taken out of the man.”

6.      Marriage

Marriage is not just a good thing but a Godly thing. God did not make another man as a helper to Adam but made a woman. This is God’s plan and will. God created marriage.

Gen 2:24 – That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

7.      Mystery

Marriage is not just about man and woman but it’s more than that.

Eph 5:31-32 – For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery – but I’m talking about Christ and the church.

Marriage between husband and wife is similar to marriage between God and His chosen people. This is the final marriage that takes place

8. Method

Eph 5:33 – However, each of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

So, husbands love your wives just as Jesus laid down his life for the church. A husband dominating is not biblical.

Eph 5:25 –Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

When husband and wife are both employed, they need to take equal responsibilities when they get back home from work. In most of the families, we see that the husband leaves everything to the wife.

Wives must respect the husbands.

Marriage is a good thing and also a Godly thing.

Now, let us look at the ingredients.

In order to make a chicken curry, we need ingredients and method (steps to follow)

In marriage, husband and wife are the ingredients and the method to follow is –

The husband should lay down his life for wife and wife should respect husband.

Eph 5:24 – Man will leave his mother and father and be united to his wife.

This is about leaving the parents and be united to wife. Husband’s mother must let go of her son and let him be united to his wife.

Living separately is good. Husband and wife form a new entity.

When a mother delivers a baby, it is a joyful and a painful moment. The umbilical cord needs to be cut and the baby must be separated.

For 9 months, the baby gets nourished by the mother through the umbilical cord.

Tie the knot and cut the cord:

Similarly, when a couple ties a knot, they also need to cut the cord from their parents. Marriage may get messed up if the in-laws remotely control.

What does “United to wife” mean?

Nobody can separate them till their death.

Did you ever super glue something? It’s very dangerous stuff. When something is super glued if someone tried to separate them, they will tear up and get damaged. God says, “They are not two but one flesh”

Husband and wife must think how to make each other happy. Look out for one another. It should always be “OUR money”, “OUR house”, “jointly shared and so forth. They are one flesh.

  

  

Oneness:

Beware of people dividing husband and wife. Sometimes, husband’s mother can mistreat the wife. At that time, the husband must stand up for his wife and tell his mother with love, “Don’t speak to my wife like that”

Intimacy:

"they were naked and felt no shame" -Intimacy means mental oneness.  physical oneness, emotional oneness, sharing, talking. Physical intimacy (sex) is a good thing and a godly thing as long as it is inside the marriage. It's something God thought of. It's not evil.

These 8 are a recipe for a successful marriage. If you put this into practice, you will be blessed.

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. 

Our Great Salvation | Colin D

This message was preached by Colin Dcruz at Word of Grace Church on  January 6th 2019. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

We’re privileged to cross over from 2018 to 2019. We need to ask what is God saying to us for 2019. We want a fresh word for the year.

Hebrews 2:1-4

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by science, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Hebrews 2 begins with a command. He’s referring to chapter1. It’s an important chapter telling us who Jesus is.

Hebrews 1:1

In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways.

The writer is writing to Jews saying that God spoke to them in various ways like cloud, angels, voice, etc., in these last days, God has spoken through his Son. The next fourteen verses tell us who this son is.

Verse 2 also says that Jesus is the heir who has inherited all things. Verse 3 says that Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. If you want to see what God is like, look at Jesus. He is the sustainer of all things, the entire universe. He provided purification for our sins through his sacrifice on the cross. The Jews held angels in awe but Jesus is superior to the angels.

From verse 5 onwards, it tells us what Jesus has done. In Verses 6 & 7, we see that angels worshipped Jesus. From verses 8 to 12, we understand that Jesus’s rule and throne will last forever and ever. It’s talking about his great might and power.  Verses 13-14, meditate on this and what all Jesus has done. There is no command in chapter 1 but it comes here in chapter 2.

The first command is to LISTEN. Jesus is God’s final WORD to humanity, so we need to listen. We often don’t listen to the flight safety instructions on the aircraft. We need to pay careful attention so that we will not drift away. Let’s not be casual about it because there is a consequence to it.

If the boat is not anchored and moored to the dock, it will drift away. It’s not about an accident happening in our lives but being careless and thoughtless about our life.

Two people are being addressed here.

1.      Those who are part of the church but not paying careful attention and not yet put their faith in Jesus.

2.      Christians in church who do the religious stuff ( read their Bible, give their tithes etc)but are not paying careful attention. We have an example in the Bible. His name is Demas.

 Philemon 1:24

And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers. Demas was part of Paul’s team and with Luke.

2 Tim 4:10

For Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.

Because Demas loved the world and was drawn towards the world, he has deserted Paul and gone to Thessalonica.

Are we the people who love the world and not love Jesus? If yes, we won’t lose our salvation but will shipwreck our faith.

 Why should we listen?

Hebrews 2:2

In the past, angels and prophets spoke and nobody escaped if they disobeyed. So do you think you’ll escape if you disobeyed Jesus the Son?

Acts 7:38

He was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mt. Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us. (Deut. 33:2)

Angels spoke to Moses. The Ten Commandments came from God through angels and people were punished for disobedience.

Lev 24:14

The Old Testament law was so strict.

Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him.

The Old Testament talks of disobedience and violation. Violation is doing something you should not do. Disobedience is not doing what you should do.

Hebrews is writing to New Testament Christians.T here are serious consequences to disobedience. He is not talking about your salvation. Your salvation is secure.   We can miss out on the great blessings of God and miss the favour of God. We need to take this warning seriously.

How do we pay careful attention?

Heb 3:1

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our Apostle and High priest.

We must fix our thoughts on Jesus, meditate his word and think about who Jesus is.

How did Jesus view the world and what do I do and not do?

Heb 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

If we want to change in 2019, we must fix our eyes and thoughts on Jesus.

2 Cor 3:18

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the spirit.

Paul says as we look at Jesus, we’re transformed into his image and likeness.

If you are proud, look at Jesus who is meek and humble at heart.

Col 2:3

In whom are hidden all the treasures of Wisdom and knowledge (Christ)

Col 2:9

For in Christ, all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ, you have been brought to fullness.

How do we do this?

1.      Every day, have your spiritual breakfast. Read the word daily.

2.      Pray daily ( Psalm 90:14)

3.      Get a journal and record what God is saying to you.

4.      Listen to messages and feed yourself.

5.      Have Christian friends. Stay in community. Have someone who will speak into your life.

6.      We want to see another dimension in our lives, i.e., Heb 2:4 –signs, wonders, miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit. As we pay heed to God, God will testify it by signs and wonders. Ask God to use you.

The word came during the worship about drifting away. May 2019 be a year when you anchor in God. Make Jesus first, follow him and pay careful attention.

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 Wonder Of Christmas | Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on November 25th, 2018. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

In the entire Bible, there were 2 periods of 400years gap –

1.      Israelites had to endure 400 years of silence in Egypt, waiting to hear from God

2.      People had to endure 400 years of silence waiting for the birth of Jesus

Malachi 4:5-6 - “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

Malachi prophesies about prophet Elijah before the day of the Lord comes. And then the 400 years of silence follows.

This silence was broken by an angel

Luke 1:11-17 –

Zechariah and Elizabeth were very old and thus could not have children. But our God is a God of miracles. Even at her old age, Elizabeth could conceive.

We must remember to pray for the women who cannot have children. God will bless them with children.

Luke 1:7 - But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

After the angel of the Lord spoke to Zechariah, he could not believe it. Hence, he became mute till his son was born.

Luke 1:18-20 - 18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

In the bible, its written that John the Baptist was the greatest of all

Matthew 11:11 - 11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Why was John the Baptist the greatest?

John was the greatest because he was the one that is going to announce the birth of the Savior of the world. As Christmas is approaching, let us focus on birth of Jesus and works of the Holy Spirit in this birth of Jesus.

Luke 1:15 - 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.

John was filled with the Holy Spirit while he was still in his mother’s womb.

Luke 1:26-33 - 26 

The whole Old Testament talks about the Messiah. In New Testament, it came to pass at Mary’s time.

Luke 1:35 - The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called [b] the Son of God. 

This verse talks about the Holy Spirit too.

For the first time in history, a woman was going to conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit without a man’s involvement.

Luke 1:35-37 - 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

From these verses we say that nothing is impossible for God.

Galatians 4:4-5 - 4 But when the set time had fully come,God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

What is meant by “When the time has come.”?

When we go through the Bible, we see that, at different times, different significant things happened. One of the examples is that when the Roman government came up, there was good governance. One of the many good things they did was they laid roads so that the soldiers could move around easily and quickly. Thus the saying, “All the roads lead to Rome”

This is “Fullness of time”. God wanted the gospel to spread and hence the right time.

Luke 1:41-42 - When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice, she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!

Once again we see that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. The result of it is the burst of praise.

Luke 1:67 - His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied

Even Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit after the birth of John. The result of it is the prophecy from the verses 68 to 79

Luke 2:1-2 -  In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

Those days, Caesar Augustus and Quirinus were well known and famous. But now when we ask people about them, most of them don’t know who they are.

Before Jesus was born, Mary was someone whom people never knew about. But after Jesus was born, people know more about Mary but not Caesar Augustus.

Micah 5:2 - “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans[b] of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times.”

It was prophesied that the saviour would be born in Bethlehem.  For this prophesy to come to pass, God planned that Caesar Augustus would take census of the entire Roman world for which everyone must go to their respective own towns. Thus Joseph, along with Mary who was fully pregnant had to travel to Bethlehem all the way from Nazareth on a donkey.

Luke 2:6-7 -  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them.

God could have provided them with a room. But Jesus who was rich chose to be born in a stable as poor. This shows the humility of the Savior.

Micah’s prophesy came to pass after 800 years

In Bible, every time an angel of God appeared, he said, “Do not be afraid”. Why?

Angels are not cute little babies with wings like how they are shown on greeting cards. Angels are powerful!!! The first time an angel was mentioned in the Bible, he had a sword in his hand to guard Garden of Eden.

Luke 2:8-10 - 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 

Angels are powerful and that is the reason why the shepherds were terrified.

The angels that are so powerful did not go to the rich people but instead went to the shepherds to share the good news. Why?

Shepherds were well known for being liars. Their witness was not considered valid. They were always looked down upon in the society.

But still, God chose these shepherds to reveal the good news. God chooses ordinary people for the works of His Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 - 26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

 If you are ordinary, then there is good news for you. GOD CHOSE YOU!

Luke 2:11-12 - 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

The angels revealed to the shepherds that the Savior was born and also revealed the sign to identify. The sign was – baby lying in a manger

Luke 2:13-14 - 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

The news revealed by the angels was a good news. Savior of the world was born! There was a great heavenly singing which was witnessed by the ordinary shepherds.

Luke 2:15-16 - 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

The shepherds did not stay quiet but immediately went to see the saviour.

Luke 2:17- 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 

After seeing the baby, they did not keep the good news to themselves but went on to spread the word just as they were told and just as they saw.

Luke 2:18 - 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

These shepherds who were known to be liars, went around everywhere and shared what happened just as they were told. And the shepherds who were never believed, were considered and people believed what they shared about the Savior of the world.

Luke 2:20 - 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

The shepherds who once used to lie returned transformed. They started sharing the things just as they were told and just as they saw.

This is what happens when we accept Jesus as our Savior. We are transformed.

Luke 2:22-26 - 22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”[b]), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”[c]

When Jesus was taken to the temple, there was a man named Simeon waiting to see Jesus. Long time ago, Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah.

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.

Led by the Spirit he went to the temple. There he took Jesus into his arms.

Luke 2:27-33 - 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss[d] your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

33 The child’s father and mother marvelled at what was said about him.

Simeon who waited eagerly to see Jesus had finally asked God to let him die in peace as he had seen the salvation that was promised.

Would you be caught up in the wonder of Jesus, works of the Holy Spirit, miracles, signs and wonders?

If you are a person who hasn’t received this amazing news, would you do it now?

   

 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.