Back to Basics - Part 1 - Who are you following?

 

 This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on June 2nd 2024 by Lasya. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

Who am I following?

Let’s start with a quiz - what were Jesus’ first words to any of his disciples? 

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Matthew 5:18-19 

About 10 times in each of the gospels, Jesus says, ” Follow me” to his disciples. 

You can be a social media follower of Jesus- enjoy his teachings, subscribe to his beliefs, and tomorrow if you see something that doesn’t align with how you think or feel, you can unfollow. 

University style of following - listen to sermons, learn the Hebrew and Greek but don’t actually know how to put it into practice. Spiritually obese.

A disciple is a life-long learner: not an academic acquiring information about God, but a craftsman acquiring skills in the faith.” –Eugene Peterson

Apprenticeship- In the Jewish culture of apprenticeship, the apprentice would go with his master everywhere, learn from him and one day, become like him.

Matthew 8: 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Does this model work? 

Illustration of the Meenakari work, Stradivarius violin, Kintsugi art centuries old crafts that are still alive today. It’s not because of a university, but because of apprenticeship. Each master in his lifetime will only take 6-10 apprentices. Is he ineffective? No, these crafts have lasted centuries without compromising the quality. This is the model of discipleship that Jesus laid down for us. How did Jesus take on the world? By taking Peter, John, James, Andrew and other disciples.

Each of them left something or someone behind to follow Jesus. How do we think of following Jesus today? 

There are 3 steps - the tagline of Word of Grace. 

1. Enjoying God - Being with him/ beholding him 

1. The primary call of God is to himself. Mark 3:13-15 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.

2. How can you be with someone who is invisible? John 4:24 - God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

3. What do you do with him? Thank him (Psalm 100), Listen to him (my sheep listen to my voice), talk to him (prayer- ask and you shall receive), delight in him(behold, contemplate the glory of the Lord)

4. Reflection question - What rhythms do you have in your life to be with Jesus? What is your sacred space, time? Do you have times when you will not touch your phone or any digital devices and completely turn your attention and affection towards Jesus? (Not just Sunday morning worship)

2.               Making Friends - Do as he did.

 

a.               Imitation - we are so scared of that word because we all want to protect our individuality. 

                                     i. But we are called to imitate Him. John 13:14-15 “14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. ” 

                                    ii. In fact, we are called to imitate those who imitate him! 1 Cor 11:1 “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Illustration of an artisan. What are we supposed to imitate? Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (Heb.13:7).

                                  iii. Reflection Question- Who are you imitating? 

 

b.               Picture of apprenticeship. Eric Metcalf - 5 stages of apprenticeship - 

i. I do , you watch, we talk  

ii. I do, you help, we talk

iii. You do, i help, we talk

 iv. You do, i watch, we talk

  v. You do, someone else watches. Jesus did this with his disciples.

 

c.               Meals not meetings - Christian life is lived around meals not meetings. Jesus was always eating. With his brothers and sisters(those who were for him), with his enemies(those who were against him), with noted leaders of the synagogue (those who were socially above him), with sinners (those who were beneath him). 

Reflection question- What meals are you putting off with any one of these categories of people? 

3.     Changing lives - Becoming like him 

          

Q. What is the goal of your Christian life? 

Believe → become?

Romans 8:29 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son”

 

Believe → Behold → Behave → Become 

Salvation Sanctification

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

“Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2 ESV

a.               Who transforms us? So just as you would go to the doctor and ask why I am not losing weight, when we feel stuck in our spiritual growth, we need to go to his word and spirit and ask where I am stuck

b.               Jesus is committed to finish what he started. But what did he start in you? Not your job, your finances, your fame, or even your ministry. Jesus is not committed to your success. He is committed to forming Christ in you. 

c.               This is a long road. So much so that it is not going to be complete on this side of eternity. But it can be an indicator of who you are following. The partially formed version of Jesus that is in each of us. 

d.               Reflection Question - Are you more like Jesus today than you were a year ago? 

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.   

Plus One

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on October 13th 2022  by Colin D'Cruz. For the audio & video please click here. To listen to the worship please click here.

PLUS ONE

We are just a few weeks away from Christmas. People around this time of the year just get into a relaxed mode. Imagine a marathon. People finish it in 3 ways  

1. They collapse and don’t finish 

2. They finish with a lot of difficulties. 

3. They see the Finnish line and put in an extra burst of energy to finish well

We need to pick the 3rd option. A lot can happen in 7 weeks if we give ourselves to it. Maybe this year has not been good, maybe just moderate. But we can still finish strong. We will look into the lives of people who lived this way to inspire and envision us. We need to enjoy God, make friends and change lives. 

1. Enjoying God - Cornelius - Acts 10: 1-4 “At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, "Cornelius." And he stared at him in terror and said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.”‭‭Acts‬ ‭10‬:‭1‬-‭4‬

1. He was God-fearing. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is a good fear. One aspect of enjoying God is to be devout and God-fearing. We have been delivered from the wrath of God only because of Jesus. God doesn’t change. But because we are in Christ we come into his presence. The fear of God is a good thing. Exodus 18:21 - Moses was asked to find men who feared God. 

2. He was Devout - which means he was faithful. Cornelius was faithful in giving to the lord and to the needy. Would you describe yourself as one faithful to God and to His church? Will you be faithful in the things of God? PLUS ONE- We are not to be content with where we are but to keep growing in faithfulness. Aim to do something that you’ve not been doing yet. Cornelius was devoted to prayer which reached God. 

2. Making friends - Christianity is not a religion but a set of relationships. We are adopted into God’s family with other brothers and sisters. Acts 18: 24-28 ““Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.”

1. Humility of Apollos- he received from Priscilla and Aquila. It later says that he was of great help. This happened because he was taught by Priscilla and Aquila. Heb 10:24 Let’s spur one another to love and good deeds. There is a little bit of pain involved. Let’s encourage each other towards godliness. Start talking about spiritual things when you hang out. Ephesians 4:15 “instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that is Christ.” Bridge illustration - first build the bridge and then spur one another. 

2. Action point - who will you schedule a coffee, a tea, dinner with? Will you invest in them? Pray for them. And we need to also be humble to receive like apollos which only made him better. When is the last time you spurred someone onto godliness? 

3. Changing lives - Acts 8:4 - 8 ““Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city.”

But how did Philip get started? He was chosen to serve at tables. In acts 8: 29, he was walking or running alongside the chariot. He hears the guy reading scripture and started talking to him. “So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb, before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth." And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.” Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭30‬-‭35‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Here is a person who was not yet in Christ. But Philip reached out and God used him to bring the Ethiopian eunuch into the kingdom. So pray and ask God to show you people who should be invited. 

John 4- Jesus himself was in Samaria and had a conversation with a woman who came to draw water. Jesus is asking her for help. Don’t hesitate to ask for help. That simple statement of Jesus opened something up and the gospel went to the entire village. Her testimony made a way for many to believe. 

God has placed you here because he has a purpose for you. Part of that is to share the gospel with people. We have a great responsibility. Make a list of people and start praying for them. Look for opportunities to initiate contact with them. 

Imagine if you make these 3 changes in your life in these 7 weeks, do you think you’ll grow? What’s stopping us? Our spirit is saying yes, but our flesh can say something else. Paul says he beats his body to obey the spirit. It is helpful if we have accountability with one another. You will grow stronger as you do this and the church of Jesus Christ will be built. Amen. 

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

Enjoying God in 5 G - Finding True Joy in Jesus.

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on June 26th 2022  by Lasya. For the audio & video please click here.  To listen to the worship please click here.

 ENJOYING GOD

FINDING TRUE JOY IN JESUS

If I were to ask you - what do you enjoy the most, what would you say? For me - swimming in the ocean, eating good food, chatting with a friend/ 2 over a nice cup of coffee, waking up to a beautiful view, having my cat sleep on me… The list goes on. So we all know the feeling - of enjoyment, of delighting in something that is good. But somehow when we say that we enjoy God in the same breath it feels like we are being too religious/ weird/fake. Why do you feel that is? Is it even biblical to enjoy God? Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart”

George Muller, the great evangelist said “the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day is to have my soul happy in the Lord.” he says “the secret of all true effectual service is joy in God, having experiential acquaintance and fellowship with God Himself”

How can we love and enjoy God in our daily lives in a way that is authentic, powerful and based on scripture? We’re in the series on the tag line of Word of Grace - Enjoying God, Making Friends, Changing Lives.  I’ve entitled this message, Enjoying God: finding true joy in Jesus.

Last week Navaz shared about the overwhelming, never ending, amazing love of God. So we know that God loves us and he demonstrated it on the cross and by being with us now. But for any functional relationship, you need reciprocity. (why do we love God?)

As John Piper says “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him”

The entire Law is summarized in this that you Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and that you love your neighbor as yourself.

(How do we love God?)

Love is a choice and often we can think of loving God as choosing between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But in fact, God said to Adam and Eve in the garden, you can eat from any tree in the garden but one. In the same way, enjoying God is a multifaceted activity and we can enjoy him in every part of life.

Have you heard about the 5 love languages? All of us receive love mainly in 1 or 2 ways. But God loves and receives love perfectly. Think of it like your mobile data.(1G - 5 G illustration) So how can we grow in loving him? Today we are going to explore 5 ways in which we can love God and enjoy Him.

Loving God in 5G: Gather, Grow, Give, Glow and Glorify.

1.    Gather to his Presence (Touch):  Every time we meet at Word of Grace, we worship. Have you noticed? The Greek word for worship that is used again and again in the bible is proskuneo Which means to kiss/ to kneel to physically express reverence. Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst”. That is why I feel this is most like the love language of touch. In the OT each time the Israelites would worship God in an acceptable way, it says that His glory would come down so people would have to back down and make room for him. 1 Kings 8:11 “And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.” Experience of Physical manifestation of God in worship at Living Room. If you feel like he’s not responding to you, he is not answering your prayer, you can't feel anything…Just keep coming! Examples of Mary and Martha… choose the better thing.

AP - Take every opportunity to gather - GYM meetings, Sunday Meetings, Living Room, Mens meetings - come and let us gather to Jesus.

2.    Grow in intimacy (Quality Time): Quiet time, learning to listen to his voice. Psalm 111:2: “Great are the Works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.” Illustration - youversion audio study. Why do you have a quiet time in the morning? A relationship with Jesus cannot be built on just ritual. (Illustration - dinner table talk) Theology means the systematic study of God - it comes from the word Theos meaning God and logos, meaning discourse, or simply put, conversation. How do you move from being a servant of God to being a friend of God? John 15:15 “ No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” If public worship is the only time you’re intimate with God, you’re missing out on enjoying God. Our public worship is just an expression of our private devotion. Don’t be a bystander in the house of God, be involved, be intimate with Jesus.

AP - Spend time alone with Jesus, take at least 15 mins to study His word, learn to hear His voice… have a rich conversation with God.

3.    Give (Gifts): Matthew 6:21 “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. If you’re struggling to enjoy God, the first checkpoint is - am I giving faithfully, generously and gratefully. Somehow, the physical act of giving, has an impact on the posture and attitude of our hearts. Even God so loved the world that he gave…

AP - Give more, give regularly, give sacrificially, give gratefully, give everywhere.

4.    Glow (Acts of Service):Matthew 5:14- 16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”  John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Eph 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” Our jobs, our society, our community - these are all lampstands on which we are supposed to glow and it is one of the ways we express love to God. We can get caught up in the big works of God - the calling- but our good works are all around us. Matt 25: 40 “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,] you did it to me” It’s on the path of loving God and serving that we stumble upon our calling. It is a call to service and laying down our lives.

AP - serve diligently at home, serve at the church (Sign up for set up, clear up etc. - testimony) serve well at work, get to know and love your neighbors… WWJD

5.    Glorify (Words of Affirmation):Prov 3:6 “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” We love God through the stories we tell each other. testify of the nature and works of God in your life. After the entire nation of Israel crossed the river Jordan, God instructed Joshua to take 12 stones for a memorial in Joshua 4: 6-7 Joshua says “When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ Then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.””

AP - Take every opportunity - sunday meeting, GYM etc. to praise God and testify of his goodness.

So let’s see which area we can grow in and love God well!

The way to fulfill your calling in Christ is to first and foremost love him well. The world is broken but Jesus is so attractive. When we love him authentically, we invite people to do the same. Then you don't have to keep questioning what your purpose is. Our purpose always flows from our position and our position is lovers of God.

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