The Effective Call | Chris B

This message was preached  by Chris B at Word of Grace Church on May 28th, 2017. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

Before I jump in to anything else, I need to share a challenging story. My wife asked me to take care of the kids for a day, both of whom are mobile. There was an incident when I was supposed to take the kids out and we had an incident with the lift. I called my son to come out of the lift and he did not come, so he got stuck. Then we retrieved him and it was ok. But there was something wrong with my calling. God’s calling is not like our calling. When he calls us, we cannot say no.

This morning we will be in Jude. The greetings in the epistles can be so helpful. We often skip through them. Today we will see that every bit of God’s word has unbelievable value to us.

Jude 1-2 “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ”

Jude identifies himself as the servant of Jesus. James was the brother of the Lord. So Jude is also a brother of Jesus, but he doesn’t even bring it up. Our primary identity is not biological, it is spiritual.

This has a lot of implications for us. If you were born in an important family, it is easy to think that your identity comes from that high standing. Jude’s emphasis is not on brother of the Lord,  but servant of the Lord. On the other hand, if you come from a shameful family, the shame of that can be significant. I have liberating news for you, that’s not your identity. All of us have the opportunity to have the same mindset as Jude. The scripture tells us that the greatest is the one who is a servant of all.

 Q. What does it mean to be called by God?

Romans 8:30- “And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

God the Father, before creation, knew and loved his children. He called them, justified and glorified them. These are all in the past tense because they are so certain that they have already taken place. It is unshakable and unchanging.

1.      We are loved by God the Father- before the ages began, he created you to love you and then redeemed you to love you. Before he said let there be light, he said let there be Chris.

2.      We are kept for Jesus Christ—when something originates in the mind of God, Jesus accomplishes it. The doctrine of Salvation is an example of that. We are his treasured possession, his Bride. As we are waiting for Jesus to return, God gave us the Spirit as a seal until the return.

Q. Have you ever been concerned that you would lose your salvation?

Know that we are kept.

May mercy, peace and love be multiplied- what does that mean?

In the midst of chaos and difficulty, we experience God’s mercy, peace and love. That is what we pray for.

Q. How are we called?

I used my voice to call my son. But according to 2 Thess 2:14- “To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We were called through the power of the gospel. The truth that Jesus has borne your sins and have resurrected from the dead and is now the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. That is what called us to salvation. 

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.  

Stephen | Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on May 21st, 2017. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

Last week we looked at Acts 6 where we saw that the number of disciples were increasing. There was phenomenal growth taking place and in the midst of this growth, there was a problem. The Grecian widows were being overlooked and it could have derailed the whole move of God. The Apostles could have said don’t bother us with this kind of stuff. But they addressed it by appointing 7 men to wait of tables and they continued to minister. As they fixed this issue, there is great growth.

This week we look more closely at one of the heroes, who rose up to fulfill this need. Stephen, has been recruited to wait on tables. To make sure the widows get their food. In Acts 6:8, what does he do?

He did wonders and miracles.

Not only this, he was proclaiming the word and debating with the Jews who came from out of Jerusalem.

Acts 6 : 8- 15- “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.”

Then Stephen preaches a message which is the longest message recorded in the New Testament. In Acts 7:54, the people drag him out and stone him to death. That is the short life and ministry of Stephen.

1.      Stephen’s calling:

The church was just formed. In Acts 1:8 there is a promise to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the regions beyond. Now great things were happening in Jerusalem. There must be about 30,000 people who became believers. Out of 30,000 they wanted to select 7 men who were people of repute. Out of them, Stephen’s name was the first name mentioned. Stephen was said to be full of faith and Spirit

2.      Stephen’s Character:

There are so many similarities in the life of Stephen and the life of Jesus. He had a servant heart.

I.                 Like Jesus at the last supper, wrapped his robe and taking a basin of water washed the disciples’ feet. That’s what Stephen agreed to do.

II.               Jesus performed great wonders and miracles.Stephen too did it.

III.              Stephen, like Jesus, went preaching the gospel in Synagogues. There were synangogues based on where people had come from. Stephen was a greek speaking Jew. He preached the gospel to these people.

IV.              When people could not stand his wisdom, they did not know what to do. Then, they slandered him. Lazarus was raised from the dead. The Pharisees were not happy with that and decided to kill Jesus and Lazarus. They had the same reaction for Stephen. They falsely accused him.

V.               Death- In their death as well, there is a lot of similarity.

A.     Stephen was full of faith. We know this because he was full of the word of God. Stephen did not have a paper and pulpit to speak. He was accused and people wanted to kill him. He just stood up and defended his faith.

B.     He was full of wisdom. In verse  10, the Jews could not stand his wisdom and Spirit. One of the people who he could have been debating with is Paul. Paul is from Cilicia. Paul’s teachings show that they have been affected by Stephen’s preaching. He spoke about Salvation by Faith by Grace.

C.     He was full of Grace. Like Jesus in his death when Stephen was being stoned, he prays for them. That’s not our reaction, is it? In Acts 7: 60- “And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”

The length of our life doesn’t determine its impact.

Q. What was the impact of Stephen’s life?

The Promise of God was launched as a result of the persecution that came about. Stephen’s martyrdom sparked a persecution which pushed out the disciples to go into the world.

Saul’s conversion was the other implication of his life. He took over from Stephen. He was a bridge between the gospel going to the Jews and the Gentiles. Peter appointed Stephen. Saul was impacted by Stephen and he went to the Gentiles.

Tertullian- “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”   Jim Eliot and his friends went as missionaries and were killed. We could think, what a waste of young lives! But that year, more than 800 young people committed their lives to mission.

God has not changed his plans.

Q. What can we do to do God’s will?

We need to follow in the footsteps of Stephen. It means, humble ourselves and serve wherever we can. Without the preaching of the gospel, people can’t be saved. So all of us need to do that irrespective of your position. Stephen and Philip did miracles and wonders. Not only did he live well, but he died well. He was full of the Holy Spirit and Full of Grace. In everything we need to be full of grace. Stephen has set before us a tremendous example.

Next time, we look at the example as being full of the Holy Spirit. His face was like that of an angel. It happened to Moses as well. Let us seek to be people who are full of the Holy Spirit. Let us see what impact  our life can have on the Gospel and the Kingdom.

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.  

Who are our Grecian widows? | Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on May 14th, 2017. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples many times over 40 days. Jesus’ prophecy over the church- “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” We are the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophetic word. In Revelation 7:9 – 10 we see the complete fulfillment of this prophecy “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”” People from every tribe and tongue chosen for salvation will be there. Praise God for that time.

Between his prophetic word and what happens in the end of time, we see the growth of the church recorded in Acts. Acts 1: 15 It was just 120 people. In Acts 2, it becomes 3000. In Acts 3, we see that the Lord was adding to their number every day. Acts 4- 5000 people. Acts 5- The Lord added multitudes. We see the growth of the church. In the midst of this phenomenal growth, imagine Peter walking down and healing people everywhere his shadow fell. People were being changed forever. Along with this explosive growth, some things happened to hinder its growth.

Acts 5- Ananias and Saphira- their deception resulted in their death. In Acts 6:1- “Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”

One of the amazing things about the Bible is that it records the good, bad and ugly. King David’s whole life is laid out before us. In 1 Cor 10 Paul writes, “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.”

The instruction from the example of Ananias and Saphira, is to be holy. Then at the height of a revival, there are arguments about food. They are arguing about the chicken leg in the Biryani. The Greek speaking Jews were complaining about their widows are being neglected.

Q. who was this food being distributed to?

To needy widows who didn’t have sustenance. 

Q. Why were they distributing this food?

Once they were saved, they could not go back. So the 120 had to look after so many of them. In Acts 2 after the 3000 were saved “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” So the Grecian widows came to the apostles. This was a problem. It is important that we take care of widows. True religion is purity but also to take care of the downtrodden.

Q. What’s the solution?

The apostles could say, these people can’t handle it, so we will handle it. They say, it is not right that we should give up preaching of the word to serve tables. Each one has a different calling. Jesus himself said at the last supper that it is blessed to serve. God looks up on people who stoop down to serve. At this particular time, the apostles said that it is not right for them not to attend to the people being saved.

Q. What is so important about giving food to widows?

It is true religion. If they didn’t do that it would have hindered the work of God. Therefore, they ask for 7 people from among them.

Q. What were the characteristics of the men chosen for this?

The task was to serve food. But the apostles felt it was so important!

1.      Character- Of good repute. Men above reproach.

2.      Charisma- Full of the Spirit. Someone being led and controlled by the Spirit.

3.      Competence- Full of Wisdom.

If we want to fulfill a task in the church, these are important. Prayer and the preaching of the word is a key function of the apostles.

These names were all Greek. They chose Greeks to serve the Grecian Widows.

Q. What was the result?

The word of God continued to increase. The Number of disciples multiplied. They took care of distributing food to the widows, and this was the result.

These things are written down as examples.

Q. How does this apply to us?

Are there needs in the church to be met? Are we playing our role to meet those? Having a welcome team to greet and receive people, the Sunday school, these are all different needs.

By not doing anything, you are actually doing something negative. Jesus said, who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.

For a church, an ideal team must consist of these people:

1.      A leader

2.      A worship leader

3.      A children’s worker

We have treated the children’s work like they treated the Grecian Widows. We need to get that thing right. We are looking for someone with character, charisma and competence. Each church will have to apply it according to their situation. Our action or non- action could be hindering the growth of the church. In the kingdom, we are looking for ads like, wanted- someone to wait on tables, wipe a child’s nose, set up the hall.

This is not the end of the story though, is it? Stephen, after Jesus, became the first martyr. He had the privilege of dying for his faith. Philip, went down to Samaria and preached the gospel. A whole city came to faith because of him. An angel of the Lord comes to him. He baptizes the Ethiopia Eunuch. He gets bodily transported. The Lord looks upon such people with greatness.

Would you like to wait on tables?

Our answer should be YES.

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's Weighing you down?| Sunith N

This message was preached  by Sunith Nallala at Word of Grace Church on May 7th, 2017. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

Q. What comes to your mind when you hear the word, Ussain Bolt?

A Race! Ussain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter. We are very much like him in our Christian race.

Q. What are some of the terms in running a race?- Perseverence, Practice, Endurance, Strength, Stamina.

We know what we need. Let’s be open to the Holy Spirit who will bring forward the requirements for running the race.

Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”

In the chapter 11, we see the hall of faith- The individuals who have accomplished what God has called them to do. There are 5 things we need from this passage to finish our race:

1.      Encouragement: The cloud of witnesses are the people of the past who encourage us to run our own race with perseverance. When our body is not willing to move  forward, when you are exhausted and your carbs have burnt out, that’s when we hit a wall- we need encouragement then. We must be responsible for each other’s race.

How do you encourage when you don’t know the area of encouragement? For this, we need to have a deeper relation of talking about one another’s weaknesses. This is an area where we as a church need to grow. We need to talk about our spiritual growth and battles. Heb 10: 24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” The Bible directs us to encourage one another. Let’s be radical, being deep in our relationships.

2.      Getting rid of what hinders: If you tie a rope to your leg, or a heavy backpack, you slow down. This weight hinders us from running. This includes good things as well. We do not know the things that are hindering us from running the race. We need the Holy Spirit to help us in this. How are you managing your time? Are spending much time in the office, and neglecting your famiy? Are you spending time with your family and neglecting your time with God? Are you spending too much time on social media? If it is killing your time, it is time to reflect upon your spiritual life. If you are a shopaholic, how are you spending what God has given you? Relationships- which could be taking much of your time. Building relationships is what God has called us for. But what kind of relationships are you building? Build with those who are committed to running the race.

Galatians 19 talks of the sin we need to avoid. The secret things of our heart, the sin, will destroy us from deep within. Sexual immorality, addictions, drunkenness, pornography, these lead you nowhere. We need the Holy Spirit to break the chains of sin. Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” Every time we are tempted, the Holy Spirit will guide us to walk away from it. We need to choose to listen to Him. When we do this, the chains will break lose.

3.      Running the race with perseverance. When you run with perseverance, it develops character. God will only discipline us with the things we face. James 1: 2-4 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” These trials and temptations are necessary for us to persevere in faith and gain confidence. James 1:12- “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” God is also rewarding us for our perseverance. Noah was called to build the huge boat without seeing the water. He persevered in faith. God rewarded him for that. God might ask you to forgive someone who is teasing you. Trust in God and forgive them. That’s when God will open new doors for your to accomplish great and mighty things. 

4.      Where is your focus: when we continue in this passage, we see that fixing our eyes on Jesus is important. We are not running alone. We run with each other. We also have Jesus who has already run the race. In verse 3 of this passage, it says, consider him who faced such opposition and yet ran with perseverance. When we fix our focus on our circumstance, we feel like we are drowning. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we can do miraculous things.

5.      Inspiration: Jesus’ inspiration was the joy that you and I will be with him in eternity, praising him! That gave him hope to finish the race. Have this hope to finish the race- one day when we enter eternity, there is no pain, no sickness, no barriers between us and God.

In Philippians 4:13- “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Let us encourage one another. We run a common race, even though each one’s race is their own. We need to fix our eyes on the author and perfector of our faith. 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.  

True Devotion| Austine K

This message was preached  by Austine Kudalkar at Word of Grace Church on April 30th, 2017. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

Last Friday we gathered for a worship evening, soaking in his presence. There was a prophetic word shared to confirm the topic of today’s message. Let’s welcome his presence here.

Luke 7: 36- 50

Jesus was invited to a Pharisee’s house. A woman stood beside Jesus, weeping on Jesus’ feet, wiping his feet with her hair, pouring expensive perfume on his feet.  From verse 40, Jesus speaks to the Pharisee. “And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Jesus is talking about 2 kinds of people. Pharisees who make laws, called as the Holy men. They are influential. On the other hand is a sinful woman who is disrespected in the society. The Pharisee starts judging the woman. In the earlier passage, we see that Jesus heals the Centurion’s servant who was at the point of death. Then he raises the widow’s son to life. The crowd starts cheering. The Pharisee had forgotten about the miracles of Jesus. He is practicing hospitality, but he does not give water to his feet or kiss him. On the other hand, the sinful woman shows much love. She gave her honour. A woman’s hair is her honour, but she wiped his feet with them. She acknowledges that she is a big sinner who needs forgiveness.

In this passage, we see Jesus as our savior. He forgives all our sins. Isaiah 53:5- “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

Colossians 1:19-22 “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him”

Jesus did not condemn this woman but accepted her as she is. She is made blameless. Jesus did not say anything about the Pharisee.

Q. How can we express our devotion to God?

1.      We can spend time in God’s presence daily because he has reconciled us and made us free from accusation. He has given us full access into his presence. The Pharisee and the sinful woman could not come together

2.      Giving- when we give generously and cheerfully, we express devotion to God.

3.      Fellowship- Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” It talks about not neglecting the fellowship of believers. Let us practice meeting together and on time at every time possible. It is struggle for me to make it on time, but I am striving to get better. Meeting through the week is also very important.

4.      Hospitality- we have many in our midst who practice wonderful hospitality! I want to encourage the single men and women and families to practice hospitality.

5.      Evangelism and Global mission- sharing the gospel is a way to express our love and devotion towards God.

6.      Apostle’s teaching- In Acts 2:42, they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. Express your love like this woman did.

When we don’t do these things, we may think that we have been forgiven little. He has taken all our sins. It is a big thing! We have new life in Christ Jesus and freedom to express our love and devotion. God has loved us extravagantly and we want to love him deeply.

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.