Adventure Camp Day 2

ADVENTURE CAMP 2013- Day 2

We at Word of Grace Church went away for a weekend to enjoy God, be with on another and  hear from God . It was truly a great time of encountering His presence in the worship, in the Word and praying for each other. We were challenged to a bigger call , a bigger commitment because what God wants to do in and through us is much bigger than we realize. That phrase was the catch phrase for the weekend.

Day 2- Session 1: Pankaj

Acts 1:8- God is about building His house on the cornerstone of Jesus. Isaiah 65 asks- ‘what kind of house will you build for me?’ and Jesus says in Matt 16:18 “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. His house is built with living stones, i.e. you and I which are going to be put together. In Ephesians, Paul also illustrates through the body with many parts. We are called the body of Jesus and we all have a part to play.

Now, the command of Jesus in Matthew 28: 19 to “go and make disciples of all nations”, is the same as “you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth” in Acts 1:8. “All nations” does not exclude ANYONE. These are the last words of Christ before ascension.

In Matthew 28: 18-20 Jesus makes the big ask of the 12 disciples to go and change the nations. Our encounters with God are for a purpose and not for a ‘good feel’ factor. These disciples were ordinary men unschooled and yet they do an amazing work for God. He knew that He has to send His power for this. That is why He says in Luke 24:49- “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

So, if you feel ordinary, you are in the right place. The big ask is for ordinary people. That is why He sent His Holy Spirit to empower us that makes us extra-ordinary- our little gets multiplied.

This requires 3 things:

1.     Empowerment of the Holy Spirit- power in Greek is “Dunamis”, from which comes the word dynamite. We are empowered by God to be dynamites for Him. ‘Not by might… but by His spirit’. Paul says, His power is made perfect in my weakness. To be world-changers, we need this.

2.     Just one step of faith- After Jesus made this big ask and ascended to heaven, only in a few weeks, Peter was addressing a crowd and in Acts 2:37 its says that they were cut to their heart. Peter saw the work of the Holy Spirit then. But it took that one step of faith on His part to see the Holy Spirit being poured out as He had promised.

3.     To the ends of the earth- The early church in Jerusalem was a good church. They added 3000 in one day. But then they took the gospel to the ends of the earth.

In India, we have 204 unreached people groups. We can multiply from Pune to Maharashtra, India etc. but we need to build well here in order to multiply.

In Jerusalem, there was revival taking place. Paul joins them at Antioch and understands his call to take the gospel to different places. The gospel reached from Jerusalem to Rome in 30 yrs.

In Dubai, they have 36 nationalities in the church. The church is involved in the nations by putting money into church plants in different nations. A prayer HUB is also started for the nations.

Pune needs this kind of vision for the church. The nations are in God’s heart. 90 times is the word ‘angels’ used in the Bible but they cannot preach the gospel. This is our privilege.

After Joshua, the nation gets scattered. The older generation did their part. We need to run even faster as the next generation.

The big ask came with a cost. Look at the apostle’s lives. We need many to build this house of God- Some living stones in Pune, some next door, and some in other countries. We all have different costs to bear. We need to abandon ourselves from the world and be Kingdom driven. But it is not a heavy burden. Jesus says- “my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

        

Day 2: Session 1- Tim Davis

It’s bigger than we’ve realized. It’s to the ends of the earth. The task comes to every local church for the ends of the earth. The Holy Spirit comes upon us for a purpose.

There are massive cities around the world where there is huge urban poverty. Rome had a million people and then London was the first. Today we have so many cities like that. Slavery we think was something of the past. But we have modern day slave trade.

The heart of God is for the glory of God to cover all the earth (7 billion). The task is huge not only in terms of the massive number that has to be touched, but in terms of depth of need in the lives of people. There is so much despair in people’s lives.

But the gospel is more effective than we’ve realized. The church is more glorious that you realize- local churches that impact community and reach the nations. When we seek the kingdom, everything else gets added. But when you only focus on the career you lose so much.

Daniel and his friends refused to become a part of the kingdom culture- they chose a different value/ lifestyle. They did that and had everything. This is not a prosperity gospel.

The cost is greater than we realize but the prize is even greater. This is worked out by giving ourselves to the local church- this is how the kingdom advances.

So when we say we are going for the kingdom it begins with going/giving ourselves to the local church. We call on Jesus, who said He would build His church, for all the resources we need. 

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 have 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. To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.

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