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 8:15-16 The 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.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

2 Cor 6:18 And, “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: 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,

1 Tim 3:15 If 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 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Heb 3:6 But 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, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until 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.

¹⁴ Then 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. ¹⁵ Instead, 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.

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. 

Two Trees | Chris B

This message was preached  by Chris Burton at Word of Grace Church on February 19th, 2017. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

I find instant replay tends to spoil the joy of watching sports except in two instances. These two instances are exactly opposite. First, when something truly amazing happens. Second is when something horrific happens. Today we will do an instant replay of the fall of humankind- and then see something amazing.

When we read it quickly, it doesn’t seem that horrific.

Genesis 3: 1-10

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.””

In this passage, we see the entrance of a new creature. Right from the beginning he is dangerous. Let’s look at this passage play by play. 

1.      Verse 1-3: Eve was already in Peril because she did not attend to God’s word. God said that she could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. But she says to the serpent that they could not even touch it. The psalmist says” I’ve hidden your word in my heart that I may not sin against you”. Knowing God’s word, attending to it carefully, keeps us from sin. When God’s word is twisted, it becomes easier to contradict itself.

2.      Verse 5-6 a half truth and a lie: The devil deals in half truths and lies. A half truth is that they will be like God. Yes, they will know good and evil but not like God. Because Eve would have entered into experiential knowledge of evil- which is not the way God knows good and evil.

3.      Verse 7-10 Shame embarrassment, covering and distance from God- When Adam and Eve eat of the fruit that God commanded them not to, sin enters humankind. The result is shame and embarrassment. They hid from God and made coverings out of leaves. And ultimately, God drove them away from his presence.

4.       The other part of this story: Genesis 1:26-27 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”God has already made man in his image- in his likeness. Adam and Eve took what they already had and abandoned it. They did not want likeness, they wanted equality with God.

5.      Insurrection of God’s word- It is a rebellion. It was more than just eating a fruit. They used it from their own damage. In Genesis 3:24 they were cast out of God’s presence. It came at an extremely high price.

In this chapter we also have something amazing! God reveals his plan of salvation. While Adam and eve tried to grasp equality with God, Jesus, who is the Son of God, comes to earth and enters a garden- and even though equal with God, did not grasp equality, but laid it down and said, “not my will but yours be done.” At that moment we see how different he is from Adam. In Philippians 2:5-7 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

In Gethsamane Jesus is tempted not to consume something. He says, take this cup from me. For Jesus, the cross was becoming like the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He didn’t want that separation from the Father. But he said, not my will but yours be done. The Cross becomes the tree of life to us and the curtain is torn to enter it.

Romans 8:29- “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” We are now recreated in the image of God. Jesus too enters a garden when he is tempted, but he does something different from Adam and that makes all the difference in the 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.  

Entering His Rest | Ian P

This message was preached  by Ian Portwine at Word of Grace Church on February 5th, 2017. Ian is one of the elders at Emmanuel Church, Durham, UK. To listen/download the audio please click here.

Genesis 2:1-3 “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

The seventh day comes after the first six days of creation. The 6 days of creation fall into two sets- Forming and Filling. There is a symmetry in the way God Forms and Fills the earth. First light and darkness were separated and sun, moon and stars were filled. The sky and waters were separated, and fish and birds were created to fill it. The dry land and sea were separated, and animals and man were created to fill it.

There is also poetry to it. It starts with, and God said... and then he declares that it is good. On day 7, he completed his work of creation. He then blessed the day and called it holy. We don’t see an ending to that day. There is no mention of the sun going down and a new day coming in on the 7^th day. There is a debate on whether it is still the rest of God until today.

Day 7 is the day God was working towards. The two pillars of creation, the forming and the filling, hold up this day 7. God has been building for himself a temple of creation and then takes up residence, ceasing from the work of creation.

Isaiah 66:1-2- “Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look:    he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”

In ancient times, if you ask where the gods lived, they would show a temple. All decisions come from a temple. He sits there in-charge of everything. It’s his proper place. He is now enthroned on high and there is no end to that day.

In creation, there is no mention of a Sabbath. The Jews were very keen on it. In the New testament, they change this Sabbath day from Saturday to a Sunday to signify the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Rest is not having a cup of chai. It is to enjoy what he has made. Human kind is the pinnacle of that creation. He continues to reign as Sovereign Lord. God is in charge of the world. We have the security that he knows everything and is carrying us through everything.

Q. What is the importance of Gathering together?

As people of the new covenant, we don’t have to come to church. So why must we come together?

1.      God has blessed this day- There is a dynamic grace when we gather together in unity to worship

2.      We are the body and if you’re not here, the body is incomplete. You have a blessing in being together.

3.      Offering of time- it’s saying that im trusting in you, my life is about you. Recognising that he provides for all our needs.

4.      Worship and discipleship

5.      Sacraments- Augustine said, the sacraments are visible words of God. they are visible signs of what God has done on the inside. The Sacraments are Baptism and Breaking of Bread.

6.      Mission- even as we pray together, we are affecting change.

Our working patterns, busyness of life, etc are making it difficult for us to meet together. But if you are struggling to make it to church frequently, remember everything that God has called us to.

Hebrews 4:9-11- “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience”

There is an invitation for this day. We don’t come to church to get our needs met, but to respond to God’s love and mercy. This is the God we worship.

 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.  

In the Beginning| Chris B

This message was preached  by Chris Burton at Word of Grace Church on January 22nd, 2017. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

This morning we will start in the beginning, in Genesis 1.

Genesis1- Read entire chapter

That is the story of creation. Creation answers a lot of Big and deep questions, like who am I, where did I come from, what’s the purpose of all this? But fundamentally, we learn about our God- who he is and what he does. It is easy to miss.

We are going to slow jam the creation the story. What it’s going to tell you is that our God is great and good. Great as in awesome, magnificent, mighty! In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth.

1.      The scope of his creation is great.

Q. What is scope?

If you were walking around 6000 years ago, what scope means is, if he looked around on the earth, it is all created by God- the mountains, rivers, seas, animals, plants, everything. The scope of his creation reveals his greatness.

That same scope remains true for us today. There are places on the planet that haven’t even been discovered to explore. We are finding new species of animals and plants today. It’s true of the heavens. We are discovering more and more planets, and other stuff we never knew about.

2.      The nature of his creation- he said, let there be and there was. He made everything out of nothing. I will need things from you in order to make something from you. We need raw materials to make anything. But God says, and it’s done.

3.      The method of creation- One story of the ancient Babylonians of creation is that of a war that some god had to strive and vanquish a foe to create. But our God doesn’t strive. He suffers for his creation later, but he doesn’t suffer in creating.

It doesn’t just happen, but it is good. The result of God’s creation is something good and wholesome. God in the first 3 days creates and next three days, fills and makes beautiful. He creates, the sun and moon, seasons, seas and skies, and fills them with animals and plants. Finally, even the land he fills with vegetation and animals and finally us.

When we are doing things, we are to do them as excellent stewards. He gives the whole earth to man to steward. It’s a pretty big task.

We also see God’s goodness in this passage. It’s noteworthy that before God creates mankind, he’s already fulfilled all of his needs. Before they even know what their needs are, they have already been fulfilled by a God who loves them. This is true of us too.

2 Tim 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. 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,” Do you treasure the fact that our king has come to become a man, suffered for us, saved us? When did this happen? 

Before the creation of the world, he knew his son would die for it. That is the goodness of our Lord.

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.