Back to Basics - Part 7

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on July 28th 2024 by Colin. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

Last week we saw 3 marks of the disciples - 

1. Holds onto the teachings of Jesus

2. Love one another just as Jesus loved you

3. Bear fruit

We see snapshots of the Gospel in the lives of the disciples. 

Matthew 9:9 NIV - As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

Jesus sees Matthew, a tax collector. His job is not a very good one as he collects tax from the Jews and gives to the Romans. Jesus says only two words, "Follow me." Matthew immediately got up and followed Jesus. 

Matthew received the effectual call through the Holy Spirit. 

John 6:64 NIV - Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.

We see that some people didn't believe in Jesus and didn't follow him. In Matthew's case, he left everything and followed Jesus.

Romans 8:29-30 NIV - [29] For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. [30] And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Here we see that God predestined us and at the right time called us. When we were called, the Holy Spirit worked on our hearts and that's how we put our faith in Jesus and decided to follow him. 

Colossians 2:3 NIV - in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 

As we put our faith in Jesus and follow him, we find treasures of wisdom and knowledge in His Word. 

Matthew 9:10-12 NIV - [10] While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. [11] When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” [12] On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

Jesus never separated himself from the sinners but was with them. The Pharisees wondered how he could do this as they kept themselves away from anything unclean. 

Jesus called us not just to meet with the believers but with the ones who are lost and broken. 

When we listen to their stories our hearts open for them. 

Meet with them, eat with them, listen to them and spend time with them. 

Don't jump into sharing the Gospel. Engage with them and listen to them if they share their brokenness and challenges. 

You may not have a solution, but Jesus has. Listen to them and pray for them if you are led by the Holy Spirit.

Throughout this chapter of 9, we see Jesus' miracles. Jesus was engaging with people's brokenness. 

Matthew 9:35 NIV - Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 

Here we see that Jesus was going to different places and engaging repeatedly with people's brokenness. 

People in this world have a lot of problems and difficulties. They're helpless. They're like sheep without a shepherd. 

Matthew 9:37-38 NIV - [37] Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. [38] Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

We need to look at people with the eyes of Jesus. The harvest is plentiful. We need army of labourers. So, we must pray to God for labourers.

Matthew 10:1-5 NIV - [1] Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. [2] These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; [3] Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; [4] Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. [5] These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 

We see that the disciples prayed and they themselves became the answer to their prayers. 

Matthew 10:11-14 NIV - [11] Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. [12] As you enter the home, give it your greeting. [13] If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. [14] If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.

We are called to share the Gospel. Don't worry about the outcome. Some may respond to the Gospel and others may not. 

Matthew 10:26-28 NIV - [26] “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. [27] What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. [28] Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 

Don't be afraid. The worst could be death.

You know ADF supports the lawyers who fight the cases of the innocent Christians who are in prison. 

Matthew 10:32-33 NIV - [32]  “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. [33] But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

Are we willing to put our reputation on line for Jesus? 

Matthew 10:40 NIV - [40]  “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 

It is an immense responsibility that we carry. We carry with us the very presence of Jesus. When you are received, the Father is received. 

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.   

The Effective Call | Chris B

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Know that we are kept.

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

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

Q. How are we called?

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

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

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that have people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.