Lost and Found | Augustine K

This message was preached  by Augustine Kudalkar at Word of Grace Church on May 27th, 2018. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

Luke 15:1-10

Jesus mostly spoke in parables and not everyone understood them. The disciples would often take Jesus aside and ask what it meant. Parables are stories that convey truth through analogy or contrast. It dealt with the attitude of the Pharisees- it dealt with the issues of the heart.

Q. Have you ever lost anything valuable in your life?

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

The Pharisees distanced themselves. They were Jews working for the Roman government. The sinners were gentiles, who were drunkards, adulterers, etc.

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.

The Shepherd faithfully went after the lost sheep. He could’ve assumed the worst and not bothered to go after the sheep. But he goes after the sheep and he rejoices over the sheep.

Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

God does the same with us.

Zephaniah 3:17-20 “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. I will remove from you all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals, which is a burden and reproach for you. At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you. I will rescue the lame; I will gather the exiles. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they have suffered shame. 20 At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the Lord.”

God rejoices over us.

Luke 15:8- 10 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.””

The woman lights a lamp and sweeps the house and she seeks diligently until she finds it. The opposite of being diligent is being lazy. The coin did not find her, she found the coin.

Isaiah 53:6 - “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

We were all lost at one stage. But someone sought us out and we were found. God is inviting us to this world wide mission which he talks about in Matthew 28: 18-20 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””

Luke 19:10 –“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”Jesus also modelled the mission for us. Zaccheus was eager to see Jesus and Jesus decided to have dinner with him and Zaccheus’ heart changed.

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Anyone can reach out to the lost. The shepherd boy, the woman, the Father... Everyone sought out the thing they had lost and they found it. So today you could be working, a student, a man or a woman, you have an invitation to take on the ministry of reconciliation.Everyone is valuable and significant in the sight of God. He doesn’t have favouritism. Just as we have ministries of external affairs, corporate affairs, defense, etc. God has given us this ministry of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 “17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

So we are the ambassadors of Christ.

1 Peter 2: 9-10 “9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

Q. How we participate in this mission?

1.      Pray for them

2.      Eat with them and accept them

3.      Share the gospel with them

When you seek out the lost, God makes our efforts fruitful by drawing them to Himself. So let’s go out and seek the lost and share the Good News of 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. 

Have we lost the plot? | Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on May 20th, 2018. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

I want to begin with a story. On a dangerous sea-coast, there was a life-saving station. It was only a hut with merely 1 boat but they were saving people. Eventually it got recognized and more people came to join. They built a building for public gatherings like a clubhouse. Saving lives and feeding the hungry, etc hardly occurred. They hired professionals to go and save people. They had life-saving images in the Club’s decoration, but they didn’t do much life-saving. Does this remind you of something? Yes, the church.  

The purpose of our gathering is worship Jesus, but also to build ourselves up for one purpose- it is to save people. Jesus has come to seek and save the lost. Next Saturday is Global Outreach Day (GOD).

We gather for prayer, but we also proclaim the gospel. We were not saved just for a Sunday meeting. We were saved to go and save others. This is our purpose. Imagine a cricketer who only does Advertisements and gives up playing cricket, he has lost the plot. Statistics show that 93% of Christians never share the gospel with anyone. There are very few who actually like evangelising. The rest of us would rather study the bible, worship, and pray instead. This is because we fear rejection.

This morning we need to realign our engine. Imagine if all of us here pray for the lost, engage with the lost, and then share the gospel.

Mark 2: 1-2  “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.

People heard that Jesus was healing people and he was mobbed.

Mark 2: 3-4 “Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.

In those days the houses were not made of concrete, so they put him through that roof. It must have taken a lot of effort to get that person to Jesus.

Mark 2:5 – 12 “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone? Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

There are different characters in this story- Jesus, the crowds, the paralyzed man and his four friends. They were good friends of the paralyzed man. They carried him and were committed to get that man to Jesus. So there was deep friendship there. They could have seen the crowds and said it’s not possible. But they did the unthinkable. They were optimistic.

Then we see the heart of Jesus! Can you imagine your roof falling through? How would you react? But Jesus saw their faith. He went beyond the external and addressed the issue. Then he tells the paralyzed man to get up and leave and he was able to do that. He received the forgiveness of sins

Q. Where are you in that story?

Are you in the crowds, enthralled with Jesus’ miracles but not really involved? Are you like the paralyzed man with a need that you cannot meet yourself and need Jesus to help you? Are we like the friends that we are so committed to making sure our friends’ are met? Are you like the Pharisees who are picking on the words and missing the miracle?

The paralyzed man is everyone in the world who cannot help themselves. We are placed there to be a friend to them. Jesus is looking for you to take them and bring them to him. That is our role. Over the years, we have met people and brought them to Jesus. We cannot convert anyone or heal anyone. But we can take them to someone who can.

The gospel is spreading greatly all over India. Each one of us can do this. We can share about Jesus, we can pray for them... we can take them to Jesus. Jesus has commanded us to do it. So can we take a step of faith and do it? When we take that step God will prepare a way for them to come to Him.   

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. 

Jesus is Greater | Alex G

This message was preached  by Alex Godinho at Word of Grace Church on May 6th, 2018. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

In Nigeria, when I was walking with my colleagues, a friend of my stepped onto a pile of cowdung and slipped and fell on it. Sometimes, I think our life is like that- we are going along and suddenly find ourselves in a mess. It is not expected. We think we are all in control and suddenly something comes up. It could be a misunderstanding in a family- arguing, bitterness and we wonder how we got there. Maybe someone is in the centre of this kind of a mess. It is like an addiction that is fun at the beginning and suddenly you find that you can’t get out of it. Or a financial issue- it starts off as small loans and then one day you realise that you are in a huge mess. If you are struggling with this mess, the Bible has many words of encouragement.

The book of Revelation was written for our encouragement and not to scare us. Many early church leaders were killed for their faith. John, Jesus’ beloved disciple, was stranded in the island of Patmos. Christians were really in a hard season and wondering if there was a God and someone to help them. This is where the book of Revelation comes to tell us that he is coming back. Jesus shows up personally through a revelation. Rev 1:1- “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place”. Revelation means unveiling of Jesus. The New Testament gives a picture of Jesus- in his humility, serving people, compassionate and loving. But in Revelation we see another side of Jesus. Jesus in his glory! We get a bigger picture of Jesus. He is a conquering warrior. When we see who Jesus is in his glory, we can let him take control. Jesus wins and he wins all the time! So through faith we can share in his victory.

We also need encouragement – so we need to remember that Jesus wins.

1.      Recognise the real Jesus- If look at the news there is total chaos. If Jesus is not at the centre of our lives, we too can end up in chaos. We could succeed but won’t be lasting success. Rev 1:4-5 “Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” Of all the names that we read of Jesus in the Bible, this is the coolest to me- he is the ruler of the kings of the earth. This is significant because in the olden days, kings dominated every sector of society. They controlled media, arts, commerce, etc. When Jesus comes along in Revelation, he is called the ruler of the kings of the earth. Jesus is saying, I am Large and in-charge.

Peter and Paul died for their faith and even John is exiled in the island of Patmos. But when we are in the darkest hour, we need to remember that God is still in-charge. When you look beyond your immediate circumstances, you will see that Jesus is bigger.

2.      Share in Jesus’ victory- Jesus redeems our mistakes. Jesus gave his life so that things could be put right. In Rev 1:5 “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood”. Our responsibility is to receive his grace and his mercy. We believe that God forgives. But has he forgiven me? It took me a long time to realise that God has forgiven me completely. If you put your trust in him, he forgives. Jesus was more than enough to pay for our sins. So we are here to share in his victory. Rev 1:6 “and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.” This phrase kingdom of priests comes from the Old Testament when the Israelites are brought out of Egypt and did not know their identity. So God gives them identity- that they are a kingdom of priests. We are the same. You are not what people say you are.  You are who God says you are. He says we are loved, we are a kingdom of priests, equipped to serve and follow him. Rev 2:17 “To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” In Pergamum- white stone represents someone who won a victory. Athletes in that day would get a white stone that signifies that they are winners. We don’t have to wait to receive that stone because we are already victors.

3.      Look forward to Jesus’ return- we all go through rough times but we need to endure. I was pushed around at work and not given what I deserved for 19 years, but in 6 years I was promoted more than what I would have earned in those 19 years. We need to hang on to our hope in Christ, no matter what the difficulty in front of us. Look beyond the junk. Rev 1:7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him,even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”So shall it be! Amen.” We will live with God forever. When he first came, he came as a baby in a manger, in meekness. But when he returns he will be the conquering king, the Lord of lords, seen by everyone, a judge, bringing peace to the world. Jesus wins and we share in his victory.

Your life is marked by your love for God and love for people. At the end of your life this is what counts. It is not more complex than this. Look at the people He has placed in your life and start valuing them. We need to start forgiving and understanding one another. Love God and Love others. 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. 

The Power of Testimony | Austin K

This message was preached  by Austine Kudalkar at Word of Grace Church on April 29th , 2018. To listen/download the audio please click here. 

The gospel of John was written by an ordinary fisherman. This was the man who wanted to sit on the right hand of Jesus and wanted to bring fire down from heaven over a city. But his heart was transformed by the life and ministry of Jesus and he was known as the apostle of love.

       I.          Engaging people

John 4:1-4 “Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria.”

a.    Intentional: Jesus was intentional about going to Samaria because he wanted to encounter this woman.

b.    Initiate: Jesus initiates a conversation with this woman. Leaders always initiate.

c. Overcoming barriers: There was great hostility between the Jews and Samaritans. In our culture it is the caste system. Also women were not valued in society. So the Samaritan woman was surprised that a Jewish man would address her. So don’t let these barriers stop you from reaching out to people. 

d.  Identifying the real need: Jesus identified that this woman was thirsty for fulfilment and satisfaction. John 4: 14-15 “Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.””

People are always looking for something more. They want to upgrade everything they own. They want more and more- smoking, pornography, going from one relationship to another.

John 4:16-19 “16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied.Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.””

This woman has gone through rejection several times. Jesus spoke to her knowing her past life but he did not mistreat her, reject her or judge her. There is great power when we speak with people and do not judge them.

     II.          Invitation to Worship through relationship

John 4:19-26 – Jesus speaks about worshipping God through relationship. The true worshippers will worship in Spirit and in Truth. This woman was more interested in the places of worship rather than the person to worship. Worship without relationship with the Father is not worship at all.

1.      Worship in Spirit:

John 3:4-7 ““How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’” When you place your faith in Jesus, he adopts you into your family and fills us with the Holy Spirit which is out guarantee of eternal life.

2.      Worship in Truth: John 14:10 “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father”. Ephesians 1:13 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” Jesus is the word of Truth. John 1:14 “and the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us”. Jesus revealed himself to this woman.

    III.          Honoring women: Jesus demonstrated to his disciples how to treat women- to talk to them and converse with them. In the same way, people in our society are looking at us- how we treat people, how we honour women. This is how we can transform culture and impact society. So this is a call to Action. But why do we do this?

a.      The will of God- John 4:34 ““My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”John 6:38-40 “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”” The will of God is for us to be saved and not to lose us. He gave us eternal life. Here is an invitation to receive Jesus as your saviour. He will not lose us and nothing can snatch us from his hand.

b.      Sowing and Reaping: John 4:37-38 “Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”” There is always someone who shared their testimony and the Gospel to you. But don’t expect immediate results when you sow. Romans 10:14-17 “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message? 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ”

    IV.          Share the gospel of Salvation- Many Samaritans came to believe because of the woman’s testimony. The woman accepted God’s love and did not feel judged. Many came to Jesus and put their faith in him. Revelation 19:10 “” When you share your testimony, you are prophesying into their life. Some may reject it and some may accept it. But we have the hope that can turn mess into a message, a test into a Testimony, a trial into a triumph and a victim into a victor!

  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.