Friday, March 7, 2025

Pictures of the Church - Part 4

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on March 2nd 2025 by Colin. For the audio & video please click here. For the worship please click here. please click here.

CHURCH AS A FAMILY PART 2

INTRODUCTION

Last week, we examined God's heart toward His creation made in His image. His heart always wanted to have an intimate relationship with us. But we saw how sin corrupted God’s perfect creation. Yet God made a covenant with Abraham's family and then with the nation of Israel, who was supposed to be a model to the rest of the world, but the rebellion was so deeply rooted in their hearts.

And then, in the fullness of time, as prophesied in Gen 3, God sent His only son to die for us while we were steeped in our sin. Jesus came to reconcile us to the Father and to make way for an orphaned planet to find sonship through the Cross. We have been purchased by the precious blood of Jesus and brought into His family. God has expectations for each of us. We need to live to please the Lord. The Bible asks us to “find out what pleases Him”. It is not just function but relationship. In God’s family, the master and worker are brothers. The Cross brings down every barrier and diving wall.

Ps 68:4-6 God is a father to the fatherless and places the lonely in families.

The terms brother and sister are used 169 times in the N.T.

We then looked at God’s family. What are some of our features and characteristics? God is our father, Jesus is the head of the family, He is our brother, we are His household, and we are a caring community that seeks to live in harmony and unity.

We ended by asking where you are in the family circle of life: an infant, child, young adult, reproducing parent, or grandparent.

Today, let us look at how we function as a family and what we do together.

Jesus saved us to reconcile us to the Father. We have been transferred from being orphans into a family, from one kingdom to another. Our salvation has a plan and purpose: to bring those who are not yet saved into the family.

So, after salvation, it is not a time to sit around and sing lovely songs. We are called to co-labour, co-create, and collaborate with Jesus. We have a job to do within the family and then get involved in the family business or mission to seek the lost.

Each member of the family of God has a role to play. There are no spare tires or parts.

HOW THEN SHALL WE LIVE?

FAMILIAL INTIMACY

It is not a formal relationship. Jn13:34-35 We are commanded to love one another. What does this love look like? It means we care for one another in practice, ways to demonstrate love.

1Jn3:18 – Let us not love in words but in deeds also.

John 13:34-35 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
1 John 4:7 – “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

WE FELLOWSHIP AND ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER

Fellowship

Acts 2:42 – “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
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.”

Do we have faithful brothers and sisters who will tell us when we are getting led astray? We ought to do this in a Christian family.

We carry each other’s burdens

Galatians 6:2 – “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.” V5, each one should carry its own load.

Burdens are crises and emergencies. We must bear each other's burdens, and the church must come together to help. Whose burden are you bearing?

WE PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER

We have seen tremendous answers to prayer as we have been praying every day. This week is when we gather as a church to pray. Let us be faithful in prayer.

James 5:16 – “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
Ephesians 6:18 – “Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”
Matt 21:13 “It is written,” he said to them, “ My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

WE GROW SPIRITUALLY TOGETHER

Colossians 3:16 – “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom.”
Ephesians 4:15-16 – “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ.”

SERVE ONE ANOTHER

1 Pet 4:10-11. Gal5:13.

Use your gifts to serve others. Use your freedom to serve one another.

Mk10:45 Jesus was our model – He came to serve. We are called to serve our church family.

We will look more into how we live as a family the next time.

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 has 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. Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Pictures of the Church - Part 3

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on 23rd February 2025 by Navaz. For the audio & video please click here. For the worship please click here.

THE CHURCH - A FAMILY

INTRODUCTION

The Bible records many pictures of the church. We are called the army of God, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the temple of God, the new Jerusalem, the body of Christ, etc. Which one do you identify with the most?

Today, let us look at the church as the family of God.

From the beginning, we see family on display in the trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are perfect in unity, love, and cooperation. As Christ's followers, we aim to become more Christlike in who we are and what we do.

GOD AND MAN

Creation -God always wanted to have a relationship with us. He created the most magnificent creatures and placed them on the Earth. Then, He made man by His breath and hands to enjoy a loving, intimate relationship with Him.

He did not just create us but gave us power, authority and dominion – to govern the earth as he would because Adam and Eve were His Image bearers.

Corruption -Then sin came in and ruined everything. First is fractured our relationship with God. Adam and Eve were banished from the garden. They lost their power, authority, and dominion and, most of all, lost their relationship with God. Where God was once their Father, they are now orphaned. This orphan heart is passed down to all of humanity through Adam. The orphan heart is distrustful, hateful, competitive, selfish, willful, disobedient and everything else evil you can imagine. Darkness, evil, chaos and destruction become the order of the day.

Yet God does not give up on us. He still wants to carve out special people, a family that will display His glory on earth, as part of His redemption plan. He calls out Abraham and makes a covenant with him, saying that he will become a great nation, and all the nations will be blessed through him.

Fast-forward, and we see God make the nation of Israel a special people to display His glory. But the rebellion was so deep-seated in man's heart that they kept breaking that covenant with God.

But God always had an eternal plan. In the fullness of time, while we were rambling in our rebellion and sin, God sent His Son on earth to show sinful Adam’s descendants how true humanity ought to live. He lived a perfect life, and God placed Jesus in a family. He demonstrated what an obedient son looks like.

The Cross - Jesus fulfilled His mission on the Cross: to reconcile humanity to the Father. The flaming sword that puts a divide between us having eternal life is now replaced by sacrifice on a cross that breaks the barrier and tears the veil separating us. His blood made a way for us to approach the throne of grace boldly and by which we can now call Him Abba Father.

We who were once alienated from God and brought back to him are now Children of God as we put our trust in Him. We have been adopted into His family. What does that mean?

New Creations -We now have His Divine Nature Activated in us. We are new creations in Christ.

Our nature, identity, and purpose are restored to us. We go from orphans to sonship, abandonment to belonging, aimlessness to purpose, insecurity to security and perfect love in Christ.

All this takes a lifetime to work out as we submit ourselves to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. This process is called restoration or sanctification. We are being changed from one degree of glory to another. The more we obey, the more we change.

WHO WE ARE AS CHILDREN OF GOD IN HIS HOUSEHOLD.

What does scripture say about us as a family of God?

FAMILY FEATURES

· Every family has a culture. Culture means a set of beliefs and behaviours that everyone has and does that are unique to that culture.

The culture of the family of God is simply Kingdom culture. Do you want to know what that is? Read Matt 5 to 7, the Sermon on the Mount.

· We are multi-generational 2Tim 3:16

· We all serve – We are not a restaurant where you look to be served, you can criticise the service, and your focus is on what you get to consume.

In a family, we all serve each other, are sacrificial, give, and look after one another.

GOD IS OUR FATHER

Matt 6: 9,“This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Rom 8:15-16The Spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

2 Cor 6:18And, “I will be a Father to you, And you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

1 John 3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

CHRIST AS THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY

Ephesians 5:23 – “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.”
Colossians 1:18 – “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, and in everything, he might be preeminent.”

WE ARE JESUS BROTHER’S And SISTERS

Matthew 12:49-50 – “And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’”
Hebrews 2:11 – “For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers.”
1 Peter 3:8 – “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”
Romans 12:10 – “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honour.”

HOUSEHOLD

Eph 2: 19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,

1 Tim 3:15If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Gal 6:10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Heb 3:6But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

UNITY AND FELLOWSHIP IN THE FAMILY OF GOD

Acts 2:42-47 – “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
Colossians 3:13-14 – “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
Ephesians 4:3-6 – “Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
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.”

LOVE AND CARE WITHIN THE CHURCH FAMILY

John 13:34-35 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have a love for one another.”
Galatians 6:2 – “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11 – “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
1 Timothy 5:1-2 – “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.”

There are 4 types of people in a family:

· Infants, those who serve, the old, and those who hang around and do nothing. Which one are you?

This is who we are. Much more can be said, but this is enough to chew on and think about.

Next week, we will examine what a family does. Today, we just examined who we are.

CONCLUSION

Where are you in the family? An infant, one who serves, one who is old or the one that hangs around and does nothing.

Do you have a buy-in to this local household of God? Is it evident to the others that you belong, not that you just attend? If you do not attend the family gathering, will you be missed?

If you do not serve and contribute to this local household, think about what you need to change to make that shift.

Eph 4:11-15 -So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹²to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

This is the final goal for all of us – to attain maturity and reproduce.

We will look more into this next week.

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Pictures of the Church - Part 2

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on 9th February 2025 by Colin. For the audio & video please click here. For the worship please click here.

We’re going through 1 Corinthians looking at the church as a body. We are to be united and are interrelated.

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.” - 1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭12‬-‭31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Let’s pray!

“Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The church is the instrument chosen by God to display his wisdom and glory! The early church broke down every barrier. Every culture has barriers to unity. But Christians welcomed men and women alike. The Greeks excluded slaves, but Christians included them. The Jews excluded gentiles and women, but Christians brought them together around the Lord's table. If you have put your faith in Jesus and trusted in him for your salvation, you are a part of the church. It’s one thing to be placed in the church and then another thing to know how to be in the church.

We are called to unity. Then there is diversity in this unity. Each of us is unique. We are called to be joined together in our uniqueness and to work together.

We can have an inferiority complex and consider that you’re not a part of the body because you’re not like someone else. Or you can have a superiority complex and say we don’t need someone. But both are incorrect. Every part of the body is important and plays a meaningful and valuable role.

It is God who has placed us in the body. We are to function according to our gifting. No part in a body can function on its own. For you to function in your gifting, you need to be connected to the whole body.

“From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As we play our role, the body is being built up. We are mirroring the trinity - each person of the trinity is equal yet has different roles and live in perfect unity. Even in the body we need to have this.

Q. How do we strengthen our interconnectedness?

We need to build meaningful relationships in the body and across the body. We might not be able to get to know everyone but we can get to know many.
Encourage one another
Bear one another’s burdens - “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬
Work together in ministry - look at how you can build up this body of Christ. Example of an organ transplant. The organ needs to accept the body and the body needs to accept the organ. God has given the gifts needed for the church to grow.

Q. What can we do?

Ask yourself - Am I isolating myself or am I engaged in the life of the church?
Look for opportunities to serve.
Let’s be quick to encourage people.
Let’s look to connect with people here.

As we do these things, the church grows and the manifold wisdom of God is displayed.

Friday, February 7, 2025

Pictures of the Church - Part 1

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on January 26th 2025 by Colin. For the audio & video please click here. For the worship please click here.

Pictures of the Church

Last week we looked at how to become a part of a church.

The Church of Jesus Christ is not like any other club where you pay thousands and lakhs of rupees to get membership. It is open to anybody who recognizes they're sinners, repent put their faith in Jesus and decide to follow Him. They're born again and added to the body of Christ.

Our salvation is through faith which is called the Justification. But that's not the end of salvation. God now has a plan for our lives which includes becoming His disciples. Many haven't given themselves to obeying Jesus' commands. The Gospel has to transform lives. John the Baptist said to produce fruit by keeping up with repentance.

None of us are perfect. We're all sinners. There has to be at least an attempt to change our ways. Faith is important but obedience must follow faith.

Paul says that the Church is the body of Christ. Jesus is the head of the Church and the rest of us are parts of the body.

1. Unity in the body

When we come here to attend the Sunday service, our whole body is here. We don't leave any part behind. We may have many differences but we are one. If you look around we are all different in several ways. The parts of our bodies are different too. The world divides people based on differences like race, language, region and others. All the wars that take place are because of these differences.

Ephesians 4:6 NIV - one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

We are united by the Father.

Jesus' prayer for his disciples is to be one. Before the crucifixion, Jesus prayed that all may be one.

John 17:21 NIV - that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

We see that there's deep unity among the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus wanted His disciples to be in that deep unity.

Galatians 3:28 NIV - There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

This unity transcends all social, cultural and other barriers.

Why is this unity important?

* God says so

When we share the gospel, we can't cause them to believe. That decision is with them. There's no forced conversion to Christianity.

John 17:21 NIV - that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

When we are united, somehow the unbelievers will believe that God sent Jesus.

John 17:23 NIV - I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

In this verse, the same thing is repeated.

If we want power in evangelism, we need to work to be one - loving one another and accepting one another. Seeing this, unbelievers will somehow believe that God sent Jesus Christ.

When we are united, we have Jesus at the centre. That is the common thing.

So let's have fellowship with one another.

What can we do to promote unity in our church?

It starts with greeting one another and then serving, loving, accepting, bear with one another. It is also expressed in doing things together and praying together.

The Bible uses more than 90 metaphors for the body of Christ. From Genesis to Revelation, we see a unified story of God wanting a people for Himself. The story begins in a garden and ends in a city in heaven. Everything will fade, but the church of Jesus Christ will go on forever.

We are the Bride of Christ. Before anything was created, God had a bride in mind for His son.

We have been chosen not because of what we have done but because of what He has done for us.

Who did Jesus purchase with His blood – His body, the church.

What do you value most apart from God, your salvation and your family? It is your body.

Let’s look at 1 Cor 12.

We are far from perfect, but one day, we will be.

Heb 6:2 There are four baptisms – the indwelling of the Spirit at conversion, the baptism of water, the Holy Spirit and the baptism by fire which is suffering.

UNITY

God’s heart is that we all be united Eph4:4.

Ephesians 4:4 - There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called

John 17:21 - that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Our unity helps others see the Father in heaven; therefore, we need to do all that we can to foster this unity in the church.

What can we do to be united in this local church? It is not just intellectual assent but doing what it takes, viz., participating in whatever the church is engaged in, like prayer, Gym groups, training, etc.

We are different but one. The church is the most diverse grouping of people on the Earth. In Christ, there is no Jew, Greek, or Gentile. What brings us together is Christ.

Let us build on unity and build up the Body of Christ.

DIVERSITY

The body is made up of many parts. We have different gifts, and we are all unique.

1 Corinthians 12:15 - Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.

“I don’t belong” – inferiority complex, and these people can back away from interacting and integrating. We have been placed in this body by the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:21 - ²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”

“I don’t need you” is also a mistake if we think we are independent or superior. This is a sin of pride and independence. We need each other, and we cannot survive on our own.

1 Corinthians 12:22 - On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable

The weaker parts (those not seen) are indispensable.

Ephesians 4:16 - From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

The body grows up as each one does its part.

How do we practically work out this diversity? Encourage all who serve.

In India we can see everything that is wrong with everything. Let us be thankful people. It takes humility to encourage someone else.

Ephesians 4:29 - Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

How am I using my gifts to serve the church? How am I building the church?

Do I value that I am a part of the body of Christ? We are privileged people and should not take this for granted. We cannot be ‘alone’ Christians. We have been placed in a body. God uses the church to put His manifold wisdom on display.