What's your Christmas story?| Justin J

This message was preached  by Justin Jaykumar Y. Sam at Word of Grace Church on  December 20th, 2015. To listen/download the audio please click here  . To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

Year after year we celebrate Christmas. We change our decorations but certain things we retain- the star, carol, etc. Some things have been added- Santa, decorations, etc. Some have been deleted like shepherds.

So what is your story of Christmas? A Sunday school teacher got the kids to draw the Christmas scene. Some drew Mary and Jesus, shepherds, wisemen, etc. One boy’s drawing had an aeroplane with Mary and Jesus inside and a man with dark glasses was flying the plane. The teacher asked who it was and he said- that’s Pontius Pilot! We get our stories mixed up sometimes.

Q. So what are the main points?

1. Favour of God to mankind: Luke 1:28- the angle calls Mary the highly favoured one. In Eden God created Adam and Eve and then through disobedience, God and man parted ways. Sin cannot be in the presence of God. Man was driven away from the garden.

The birth of Jesus solves that problem. The son of God was called two things

a.       Jesus- he shall save his people from their sins. Our greatest need at Christmas is not information, science, or entertainment. God sent a saviour because our greatest need is to be forgiven from sin.

b.      Emmanuel- Matthew 1:23-God with us. Christmas story is God coming down for you and me. God not only wants to save us but also be king in our lives.

When Mary heard all of this, she wondered how this will be. Nothing is impossible with God.

2. Fear- the birth of Christ dispels fear. When Mary heard about the birth of Jesus, she wondered how this will be. Nothing is impossible with God.

 In the 2 gospels we see the story recounted. For 40 years, there was silence between the Old Testament and New Testament. In the Christmas story we hear a lot of ‘fear not’s.

a. So we should “fear not” of the humanly impossible- because it is possible with god. The Angel came to the shepherds and ‘fear not’- this came in the context of salvation. Jesus came to liberate us.

b. ‘Fear not’ in the context of unanswered prayer- Zechariah and Elizabeth in Luke 1:8-11; they did not have children. If we have some unanswered prayer then take encouragement from this fear not. We see that people live in all kinds of fear- of failure, career, darkness, future, etc.

3. Worship- the birth of Jesus demands worship from us. This should be our response. The wisemen came all the way from the east and came to Jerusalem following the star. But Jerusalem did not know that a king was born. God revealed himself to us in a way we will understand. Our God is the king of kings. He will be a ruler who will shepherd his people.

Jesus’ birth is historic. Born during king Herod’s reign- a roman puppet. He was a wicked murderous king. The people hated him. Jesus was not a puppet or a wicked king. He is a loving king who will rule and shepherd. This is a wonderful combination.

Worship involves exceeding joy. It’s not dependent on what happened outside but what is going on inside. Worship is meeting your God. We are blessed we met with God this morning.

They knew that they would find Jesus because they carried gifts by faith. They trusted the vision they saw.

The wise men- God spoke to them in their language- they were astrologers. They understood.

Q. What do we bring to Jesus in our worship?

Jesus is our king, our high priest and our sacrifice. The wise men brought gifts that were symbolic and significant. Does our offering and worship befit our king?

King Herod was not genuine when he said he wanted to worship Jesus. He being king could not accept another king. If we are kings in our lives, we cannot accept Jesus’ kingship.

4. Directs us to witness- Luke 2- the shepherds were ordinary people who were not allowed to enter the city not the temple. But God chose to tell them. When they saw Jesus with their own eyes, they could not contain themselves. They had to share- they told the people that a saviour has been born.

The world is looking for someone who will deliver them. The birth of Jesus meant peace and goodwill toward men. Peace with God and one another. When we accept the sacrifice of Jesus it restores God and man and brings harmony.

This is what we share with people. They went and spread the good news to as many as they could. You and I are called to share our experience of Jesus.

So what is your story of Christmas? What is your experience?

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.

What is the goal of your faith- Part 2| Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on  December 6th, 2015. To listen/download the audio please click here  . To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

1 Timothy 1:5- The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith

The aim of preaching and teaching is to transform lives. Paul taught because he wanted to see lives being changed. The question to ask ourselves is not have we been informed, but how can we be transformed?

Love is the goal. If we don’t have love, we gain nothing. Love, which comes from a:

·       Pure heart

·       Good conscience

·       Sincere faith

We will look at each of these.

1.       Pure heart:

Q. What is the condition of man’s heart?

Jeremiah 17:9-“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” it can fool others and itself. In Genesis 6:5 this was the judgement of God on our hearts- “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time”.

There is nothing man can do about this. But the good news is, when we are born again and put our faith in Jesus, a miracle takes place. In Ezekiel 36:26 God says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” In Jesus, we have a new heart which wants the things of God. The heart is what we think about in the secrecy of our thoughts.

However, Paul says, there is a matter of persisting in the purity of the heart. God is interested in the condition of our hearts. Pharisees obeyed the law meticulously but in Matt 6 Jesus says that their hearts are far from me.

Matthew 22: 37 Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”. In 1 Samuel 16:7- “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”. We can keep most of the 10 commandments but the last one, ‘Do not covet’ deals with the heart. How do you tell your heart not to want something? Jesus had no problem hating evil and loving good.

But how do we do it? There are a couple of indications of a pure heart:

i.                     What do we speak about? Matthew 12:34- For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Jesus has given us a clean heart and it needs to be reflected in our speech. In 1 Peter 1:22 Peter says, “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart”. The word is tied up with love.

ii.                   Contemplating on Jesus- 2 Corinthians 3:18- “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” To change what we like, spend time meditating, in God’s presence, in his word, worship and thanksgiving we will be transformed. Whatever area you are struggling with, allow God to change your heart in that area.

2.       Good Conscience:

All of us have a conscience which helps us distinguish between right and wrong. There are three kinds of consciences:

i.                     Weak conscience which is overly sensitive and needs to be calibrated with the word of God. These people repent of what is not sinful.

ii.                   Seared conscience which is like a burn on your skin. There is no sensitivity in that area. This is a dangerous place to be in.

iii.                 Good conscience which indicates at the right time when something is right or wrong.

Q. How can we have a good conscience?

Our conscience is a warning signal. We don’t argue with it. When we step into areas that are sinful, our conscience tells us to stop and we listen.

a.       Firstly, we need to educate our conscience

b.      Once we sin in an area, our conscience gets seared.

Q. How does Paul keep a clear conscience?

When we come close to sinning, 2 things may happen as our conscience warns us- we resist and run away or we step in and sin. And when we sin, we feel guilty. So we go before God and confess our sin. God then cleanses us.

Hebrews 9:14- “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”

The blood of God can cleanse the pain of a seared conscience. This is available to us today. We, like Paul can have a clear conscience.

3.       Sincere Faith:

Timothy had an amazing heritage with regard to this. 2 Timothy 1:5- “am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also”

Following Jesus is a matter of faith. Abraham, called as the father of faith, at 99 years believed that God will give him a son.

There are only two religions in the world:

i.                     One says, “Do”

ii.                   The other says, “Done” and we have to believe.

The faith starts with Salvation. But after that we continue in our faith. It also involves obeying. That is holding on to the promises of God even when things look grim. Peter starts walking on water when there were storms all around.

Without faith it is impossible to please God. We believe in Jesus and God is pleased with that. We need to stand in God’s promises in sincere faith. We want to see lives change. 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 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.

What is the goal of your faith?| Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on the November 29th, 2015. To listen/download the audio please click here  . To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

In 1 Timothy 1, Paul outlines the key objective of his teaching and preaching. In 1 Timothy 1:5 he says “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” Paul had a goal. He was not aiming for a great reputation. He wanted life transformation.

Today many Christians become conference junkies going from one experience to the next. It is good to feed ourselves. Be discerning about what you feed yourself with. But in the end, it must result in a transformed life. Ezekiel 33:32- “Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.” It is like when you go to a concert. You love the experience but it doesn’t change your life. Jesus speaks of this about King Herod. He loved listening to John. But his heart did not change. In fact, he beheaded him.

Paul’s goal was to change lives and not move hearts. This needs to be our goal as well.

Paul had a method to reach this goal- through instruction. The Word of God is critical to have our lives transformed. Worship is important. Worship based on the word is very important. 

The Bible is important. Make sure you have some access to the Bible. Early Christians did not have a big black bible. But Paul spent all his time and energy in preaching. He says in Acts 20:31- “So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears”. In Acts 20:20 Paul says, “You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house”.

In Acts 5: 28 the High Priest spoke to the Apostles, ““We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” Teaching is important. Paul preached so much. Acts 20:9-11 accounts this incident when Paul was preaching all day and night, “Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!”Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left.” 

The word is important. Don’t neglect your quiet time. The method Paul used was so that he could produce a community of people who had certain characteristics. What are these?

It’s love.

1.       Love for God- Paul wanted to show people that God loves them so much. Will you respond in love to him? He reminded people of God’s love.

2.       Love for one another- this is the mark of a Christian. Is that love being produced in our life? 1 Corinthians 13:1-3- “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing” Love is important

Q. How do we get people to love God?

As we feed ourselves with the word- where he says he is not going to leave us, that we are loved abundantly and infinitely in our lives, we respond to his love.

Then, we love our brothers. Going a step further, we even love our enemies. Paul is trying to produce a community of people who receive the love of God and show that love to everyone.

Today we live in a throw away world. We throw away everything that doesn’t work. Sadly we are applying this to wives, friends, jobs, church everything. This is not love. Agape love is a choice to love. Jesus demonstrated this. His love is consistent. This means bearing with one another, forgiving one another. There is acceptance. Ephesians 4:3 says make every effort to maintain the unity of the spirit. It takes work!

Where there is sin, someone has to bear the pain of it. Irrespective of whether they let you down or not. Christmas is a wonderful time to express this.

Loving the ones who are enemies- of God and so to you- we love them by making every effort to bring them into the knowledge of God. The love of Christ compels us to share the gospel with others.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 says, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” Are you living for your pleasures and comforts? Paul calls us to live for him. We are ministers of reconciliation between man and God. What a privilege it is to be ambassadors of Christ. The God of this world has blinded them but we are called to bring them out of this.

We are not tolerating but accepting one another. We are to deeply love one another.  So let us put this into practice. Ask yourselves and one another: What can you do to grow in your love for one another, for unbelievers and for God? Discuss these things- spur on one another. When people see us, they should marvel at our love because we are disciples of Jesus. 

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.

Taught, Treasured, Transformed- Part 2| Terry V

This message was shared by Terry Virgo on November 14th, 2015 at the Regions Beyond annual gathering of the nations- 'the HUB 2015' in Dubai. It was one of the Seminar Tracks. Audio link to follow shortly

2 Timothy 1

Paul had selected Timothy. He did not volunteer himself. Then Paul commissioned him as an apostolic delegate going on Paul’s behalf to places where Paul could not go. 

It was the beginnings of an apostolic team. Now he is representing Paul. It’s a challenge no one will leap to. He had a big challenge, to represent Paul. It was a tall call.

He was called to several specific tasks- some demanding stuff- to instruct men not to teach strange doctrine, people with a wrong attitude to the law. This was huge in that day and time. Don’t judge the edges, speak with clarity.

I Tim 1:8- he had to handle male-female relationships and care for widows- authentic and non-authentic widows, he had to confront the rich and he has to do the work of an evangelist. So it’s a challenging call.

The limitations felt by Timothy:

·       He was obviously young. Commentators say that he was 40 years of age. Paul says don’t let people despise your youth- not it age but in the lack of experience, etc. Timothy felt vulnerable.

·       He was evidently timid. He was not confident. Some people think that a leader is a leader wherever he is. Not so. Biblical leaders are like Gideon, Moses post wilderness- lacking in confidence. Jeremiah was young. God has his way of calling people which may not be impressive. 1 Corinthians 16:10- “When Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am.” He was genuinely concerned for the Philippians and not pre-occupied with his own personal interests.

·       1 Tim 5:23- Timothy was frequently ill and was adviced some wine for his stomach. Some people are weak physically.

These were some of his limitations.

Q. So what was Paul saying to Timothy?

This was Paul’s answer to Timothy’s problem- Fan into flame the gift of God that was given you through the laying on of my hand.

Let’s read it phrase by phrase:

1.       It’s a gift

It is an activity of the Holy Spirit. It is not about personality, education, etc. It is other than us who has given to us. We think that some have just got it. No! It’s other than us, but we have to stir it up and kindle it in us.

Like Samson- they asked where do you get your strength from? It was a mystery. He did not have muscles as in the paintings they paint. If so, people would not have to ask. So it is other than us. It is not obvious to people because it’s the Holy Spirit. We tend to think that the Holy Spirit is a reward for good conduct. We often pray “sanctify us so we may have more power.” Power does not come from our holiness. He wants us to be holy but God gives power. Anyway Samson was far from holy, but God’s power comes on him. David cultivated a presence of God. It’s a mystery.   

2.       It’s a grace gift of God but sometimes we don’t believe it.

We think we have to be good to get it. We should be holy. He is holy but that’s not how we get it. We say it’s a gift but think it’s a reward. We pray ‘we are not worthy’. Yes you are not- but receive the gift. Peter was hardly worthy. He denies Jesus three times. And a few days later he is filled with power. It is a gift of grace. The Gift of God is not because of who you are. It’s other than you- you will never deserve it.

God said he will pour out his spirit on all flesh. God wants the power of the Spirit to flow in and through us. Samson was not the kind of person. Neither was Timothy. It was evident that God was doing it.

We tend to belittle things. Tongues- we belittle it, but Paul says he did it a lot. We need to take advantage of this gift. You spirit is praying mysteries to God. Speak in tongues daily. It introduces us to another dimension. We need to value all God’s gifts and don’t play them down. Allow God to use them. You have a gift- don’t back out, don’t deny it.

3.       It’s a gift of God within you:

Though it’s there we can neglect it. Here our response comes in. we need to fan it into flame. It’s in you. Don’t be timid. Like the woman at the well, she was confused about what Jesus was saying. He was talking about the living water. But she thought it was water. Jesus was offering her the well “in you a well”. She understood that he was offering her something that goes with her.

We often think that the well is church. Jesus says we have the well inside us. It is with us. In you. This is not to despise the gathering of the saints.

In the Old Testament, the presence was in the temple. It is an Old Testament concept. We think God is in the big meeting. But when we come to drink we get the well as well.

Luke 4- the spirit of the Lord is upon me… he has anointed me. We use the word anointed fairly carelessly. Jesus did not say I feel anointed. Something happened to him. 6 weeks ago in the Jordan when he got baptized.

We think if only I can get into an anointed meeting, sing an anointed song- no! We have been anointed. Paul says it’s in you.

4.       Fan into flame:

So we don’t neglect the gift of God that is in you. We have to counter attach the thinks that long to put the flame out. David was fighting at Ziglak. They come back to find everything stolen. His men wanted to kill him. David finds his strength in God. Then he speaks to the priest who says go. They go and get everything back.

It is not the guidance but finding himself in God. He fanned it into flame. We need to give it time. Being filled in the Spirit is a continuous thing. We need to engage afresh the gift of God that has been given to us. We have to fan it into flame. It is our responsibility to engage with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Enjoy the wonder of Jesus. Make melody with all your heart and suddenly the joy of the Lord is your strength. Keep yourself in the love of God praying in the Spirit at all times. David did this- he spoke to his soul not to be downcast. We need to speak to ourselves not hear ourselves.

“My chief duty is to make sure that my soul is happy in God.” G. Mully. It is the secret of longevity in the ministry. The days are evil. So be filled with the spirit. It’s like in an aeroplane- we are told to put the oxygen mask on ourselves first and then help others. We need to make sure our soul is happy in God. This will help sustain us and we can serve others in the long haul.

We must take time out with the Holy Spirit. Fan into flame, stir up the gift of God.

Q. What is ash?

It’s what was burning yesterday. You can’t live on ash. Sentimentality can get us down and can block our progress. Don’t look back.

We can close down because of a disappointing experience. We need to be careful. Don’t neglect the gift. You’ve been anointed. You come to God for those gifts to flow afresh in you.

Don’t neglect the Gift of God. The gift grows as we keep doing it. Sometimes we’ll make mistakes and we may get it wrong, but keep doing it.

Don’t wait to perfect it before you use the gift. Take what God gives you to the edge so as to fan it into flame.

    

 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.

Taught, Treasured, Transformed- Part 1| Terry V

This message was shared by Terry Virgo on November 14th, 2015 at the Regions Beyond annual gathering of the nations- 'the HUB 2015' in Dubai. It was one of the Seminar Tracks. Audio link to follow shortly

1 Timothy 6:11-12

Fight the good fight of faith. We are called to fight, to have a militant attitude.

The fight is in the dimension of faith. Faith heroes of the Bible are like warriors not philosophers. They fought- they did not go with the flow.

To advance, we need a fight. The battle theme of Ephesians 6 is right through the Bible. Put on the armour and fight. There is a conflict we are involved in. Nehemiah sis not want to be a fighter. He was a builder. The walls were broken. It had lost its distinctiveness.

We fell like that with the church. We want to build and bring back its distinctiveness.

But you find that when you want to build you will face a fight. When you stand to build like Nehemiah, they wanted to kill him. He did not run away. In Psalm 8- Sons of Ephraim, fully equipped, ran away. Beware of the danger of not prevailing and breaking through. We have a very hostile and strong enemy.

Adam, the son of God and yet Satan could take him out. We mustn’t kid ourselves. This is not a game. He took out Judas who lived with Jesus for 3 years. He saw Lazarus being raised from the dead and yet he completely missed it. Peter was tripped up. Ananias and Saphira, Satan filled their hearts to lie.

That’s why Paul came for Timothy. It’s not our enemy- it’s God’s enemy. Because we identify with Christ we get attacked. He does not fight fair. He will get you at your weakest. He is subtle, cunning, an angel of light. He will creep up on you.

Jesus rebukes Peter, ‘get behind me Satan’. Satan showing compassion and telling you to take the easy way out. Parents can stop kids from giving their life to God saying we’ve paid for your degree, etc.

He distorts, he lies- he’s the father of lies. He will lie to you about yourself, he will tell you are useless. He will rob you of things you know. He will come against you and tell you to give up. You give up. You haven’t got it. And you think it’s your reflection and assessment of yourself. He will rob your joy, distract you and take you off.

He will tell you lies about God. If you trust God, you are giving away your freedom. You will be tempted like this all the time.

God does not want you to be a stoic philosopher. That’s not Christianity. It’s about trusting Jesus and moving on. It’s not about keep going, but knowing what you are here for. Jeremiah 29:11- I know the plans I have for you.

Satan will lie about his ability to help you.

Eph 4- Unity. Satan will lie to you about your brothers. Make every effort to keep the unity. In your imagination- as a pastor, you hear people’s hearts. You can imagine things and distort it in your mind. If Satan can sow this in your church you will not get anywhere. We have to take time to build love, fellowship and unity.

He can come into marriage. I don’t think he/she loves me. He puts things out of proportion.

He will tell you lies about circumstances. There is no way you can get through this. Like Jericho, Jordan has closed, the manna has stopped, and Jericho ahead.

We have to take up the fight of faith. People live with a sense of failure. David said, one day I’ll die at the hands of Saul. That’s where he got it from. He thought he won’t fulfill his call. Jonathan strengthened his heart in God. Put him on his feet again.

Satan accuses us day and night. Zechariah 3- it’s about restoration of worship. Satan is accusing us day and night and we hear the Lord rebuke you. Satan wants to get you head on “give him clean clothes…”

Rom 8- it is God who justifies. Who can condemn? We have to train our thinking not to take on negative stuff. It is lining up our thoughts with scripture. So don’t be overcome by the storm but by fighting with faith. Depression, self-pity, anxiety are all real issues.

Q. Why do we fight?

If we don’t fight, we will lose. If we fight, we will win. Surrender is not the biggest thing. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Q. How do we lay hold of what God has called us to?

2 Tim 1:9- He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.

Dean Sherman said, “the most important battle takes place in the human mind.” It is a holy calling. It’s not according to works but according to his purposes. God did not call us because we are impressive or have something- our education, money, background. God chose Peter. God chooses the foolish, not many wise. It is a call of grace. That’s how we stand our ground. We don’t say God I did all this for you, God knows us. He is not shocked by our weaknesses. You have to fight to keep this ground. You don’t just surrender. You don’t give up but fight for what God has said over your life. You rise to the call over your life in faith.

It’s a call that has eternal purpose. Jesus said, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” Faith rising to that. God does not give up on us. It’s a powerful call. God opened Lydia’s heart. Saul/Paul who was hostile was hand-picked. When we were saved we were dead like Lazarus. Then he calls us and we are made alive. He calls us for a purpose and we lay hold of it.

Ephesians 1-5 tells us who we are for a purpose which is in Ephesians 6. “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand”. When Jesus says do it, you can do it.

Faith is an activity- something that is exercised. It does not come into operation by itself. You and I have to put it into operation. It is not automatic. You have to do something. Faith has to be exercised.

When Peter says “we are perishing” Jesus says, where is your faith? Jesus never said anything that was not motivated by love. You can think Jesus was harsh or you can think Jesus thought he could do it. ‘Why do you doubt?’ it has us thinking of looking two ways. If Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he would be able to walk on the water.

We need to run at giants and take them out like David did. The giant/ Satan is mocking us daily. We need to take him out because Jesus took it all on the cross. Therefore we can stand. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. Worthy is the kind that conquered the grave. We should not take the taunts anymore. Fight the fight of faith. See in Heb 11. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down. The Heb 12 witnesses are telling us that we can trust him.

God is calling us to be fighters. We do this daily. God will take us through. We need to win our private battles before we win public battles. David took out the lion and the bear before Goliath. Elijah had that encounter with the widow and the oil before the prophets of Baal. 



 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.