Take up you cross | Augustine K

This message was preached  by Augustine Kudalkar at Word of Grace Church on July 22nd, 2018. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

Luke 9: 23-27

In Luke 8 Jesus calmed the storm, set free the demon- possessed man and raised a little girl from the dead. Then he calls his disciples together, and gave then power and authority over demons and sickness. Huge crowds were following Jesus and he welcomed them. When the crowds were hungry, he moved with compassion and fed them with 5 loaves and 2 fish. After than He asked his disciples, what do the crowds say I am? Then he asks who do you say I am? Peter got a revelation and said he is Christ, the son of the Living God. Then Jesus reveals the father’s plan for his death and resurrection.

Luke 9:21 “Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.””

In Luke 14: 25-26- the crowds were following Jesus but he was not impressed with the crowds. ““If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple”

There is a cost to following Jesus. In Luke 9:23 he says “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” this means submitting to God’s will and His authority.

Q. How can you do that?

·        Spending time in His presence

·        Meeting with His people

·        Serving the Body of Christ

·        Serving the poor

We can do many things to follow Jesus. But we must take this on daily. To take our cross daily doesn’t mean to wear a cross around our neck every day. In those times, when someone was carrying a cross, it meant it was a death sentence for them. When you see people carrying a dead body, it means they are taking it to burial. That’s what carrying a cross means. It means suffering or perhaps dying for

Q. What does it look like to follow Jesus?

1.      Jesus fasted and prayed. We could do that by joining the weekly fast and pray for our country and the world.

2.      Jesus ate with Sinners- we are called to relate with the people around us- not to be isolated. So we follow Jesus when we do as he did.

3.      Jesus healed the sick- So we are called to lay hands and heal the sick.

In verse 24 Jesus says “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”  Jim Eliot was a missionary to Ecuador. He went deep into the jungle and reaching out to a tribe there. He was killed with a spear. As a result of his death, thousands of men and women signed up to go to the mission field.

John 12: 24-26 “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

In Luke 9:25 “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes”

2 Timothy 1:8-9 “So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 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. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time”

In our company, when someone does a good job, they are appreciated and acknowledged before everyone. When we acknowledge Jesus before our friends, Jesus will acknowledge us before the Father. Jesus paid the price for us on the cross and it cost him everything.

So what can we learn from this passage?

Are you a part of the crowd or are you a disciple? Even Peter messed up, but he sought forgiveness and Jesus forgave him. On friendship Sunday we have an opportunity to acknowledge Jesus before our friends. Jesus wants us to take His love to this dying world.

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 Greatest is LOVE | Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on July 8th, 2018. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

We are not just called to be Christians on a Sunday morning, we are called to be world changers. When you see people and they have different outfits on, you can tell what religion they are from.

Q. What marks Christians?

John 13:35 “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” This is the distinguishing mark of a Christian. Love is the most important thing in following Jesus.

1 Corinthians 13:

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 we don’t have love, we are just noise-boxes.

Verse 2: 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.

Knowing everything in the Word of God, amazing faith, it is incredible. But without love, it is nothing. You can have a great leader with great faith and healing and prophetic words, etc. But if he doesn’t have love, it is nothing.

Verse 3: 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.

All the sacrifices we make and good things we do, if they don’t contain love, there is no reward in doing these things.

Many people think church is a 2 hour meeting on a Sunday morning. The church is not the meeting or the place, but the people. these are people who are connected to Jesus and to one another. The church is not static, it is on a mission. The mission is to bring the kingdom of God on earth. Jesus is also interested in how we work together.

Matthew 16: 13- 18 “13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

Jesus makes an amazing declaration here. Jesus is building His church on the revelation of Jesus being the Son of God. This is a revelation from the Father. The moment this happens, we become a part of His church.

Q. What is our role in seeing the church being built?

The early Christians met in homes and courtyards. The key thing was their meeting together. Throughout the epistles we see Paul instructing them how to live. Over 50 times he says, “one another”. Forgive, accept, love, admonish, etc. So love is an important part of doing these one-another-ing. If we want to see the church of God built, the one another-ing needs to happen. Real interaction happens when we meet even apart from the Sunday. People will know we are His disciples if we love one another.  

Q. How can we do things where we foster love in our midst?

1.      Forgive: Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”- None of us are perfect and we hurt people. Sometimes we expect people to be perfect because God is perfect. We are perfectly righteous in position but not in action. We are being changed into His image and likeness from glory to glory. We all have faults, sins we are dealing with, etc. In the church, you will be hurt. Then we take offense- either perceived or real. The way we are dealing with people is by kindness and compassion. A lot of times people forgive and not forget. But the qualification of forgiveness is to forgive like Jesus forgave us. He doesn’t remember our sins. If you have been hurt talk to them about it.

2.      Accept: Romans 15:7 “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” in the world people accept one another based on social, economic or educational status. But in the church Jesus asks us to accept one another just as Christ accepts us. We are not to have divisions based on caste, educational background, economic status, language, etc. when the world sees that mixture happening, they are baffled.     

3.      Encourage: Hebrews 3:13 “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.” Life can get tough. The role of one abother is when we know that a brother or sister is struggling in a situation, we encourage them daily so they will remain open and believing towards God. Spend time with one another: we need to spend time with one another so that we know what is really happening in each others lives.

4.      Carry one another’s burdens: Galatians 6:2 “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Horrific things happen to people. But as we meet with people, we share that burden.

5.      Submit to one another: we prefer one another and don’t impose our way all the time. If a person is placed as the leader of a team, submitting to that authority irrespective of his age or capacity.

6.      Teach and Admonish one another: Colossians 3:16 “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts”  

Romans 1:11 “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong”. Through face to face meeting we are able to impart spiritual gifts to one another.  I pray that we would grow in loving one another. Ask God what area we need to grow in. Let’s pray that as people look in here they would say, yes, these are Christians.

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 Promises of Psalm 23 | Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on July 1st, 2018. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

We live in challenging times- nationally, internationally and even personally. There are ups and downs. There are people amongst us who are very sick, there are strains in marriage relationships, not able to find a job, breakdown of relationships, etc. there are all kinds of things that cause stress and anxiety. Through the service we have seen the goodness of God. That is wonderful! But in the midst of that, there are these challenges that come up. We need to anchor ourselves in Jesus so we can ride these storms.

Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

This is the best known passage in scripture. It is often read at funerals. But it is meant for everyday life. The imagery is of the shepherd who is God and we are the sheep.

1.      Provision: we may face situations in our life where we face lack. God promises to supply our needs but not out greed. Psalm 84: 11 says that no good thing will he withhold. God will meet our needs. This is not just theory. As we take hold of it, we will see the reality.

Kisan’s story: He joined Word of Grace last year, and was very happy to be here. His house was 8”x 10”. He and his wife Nutan lived there and even had guests over. Jesus gave him a new flat which is a 2 Bedroom apartment for a small rent. God provided lavishly for him.

2.      Peace: God’s peace over our lives. We lived through the invasion of Kuwait and overnight everything changed. But through it all God gave us such a peace. Many people were devastated, but we made it across. That is the goodness of God. We’ve got to draw on God in our difficult times. The situation might not change immediately but he will give us peace. We get bad news all the time and it troubles us. The antidote to that is to get into the presence of God and let His peace engulf you. 

3.      Guidance: we want to know what God wants us to do. We make 100s of decisions everyday and some may be big and some maybe small. He is interested in every decision. As we feed and soak ourselves in the word of God, he will enable us to have this navigation system within us so we may know what is right and what is wrong. There is also guidance between the good and the best. How can we get this guidance of God?

a.      Spending time with God in the quiet place. If we listen to His voice in the quiet place, we will be able to recognise Him in the midst of the chaos outside. It is important when it comes to jobs and marriages, etc. 

b.      Hear his leading even in small things.

4.      Protection and comfort: God’s promise is to be with us. What is the difference between us and the world? We carry the presence of God. The last several weeks I’ve been listening to messages on the presence of God. in life we are constantly disturbed and interrupted. But when are we making time to be in God’s presence? The Bible says ‘wait on the Lord’. What does wait mean? It means to wait. No one likes waiting. Cultivating God’s presence requires us to wait. His rod and His staff are one for protection and one for comfort. When sheep fall on their back they can’t get themselves back up. Have you been in such a situation? IN that situation he comes and delivers us.

5.      Promise of Protection and inheritance- in the presence of our enemies he pours out His goodness on us. The promise is for this earth as well as heaven. Our ultimate comfort is being with Jesus forever. Sometimes we can be so pessimistic, but God’s promise is for us to succeed.

So when you face challenges, go to Psalm 23. It declares God’s qualities and attitude towards you. So memorize it, declare it and believe it.

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.