The Church Of Christ Was Born

This message was shared by Lasya D'Cruz on 19th March 2020. It answers the question why should we do church and what should life be post resurrection. Life just begins at the cross, it does not halt there.

1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

4 And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

When you say what were the last words of Jesus on the earth, many think about His words on the cross. But if “it is finished” are the last words of Jesus, we have no reason to continue meeting like this. The reason we do what we do today is that he did rise again on the third day and appeared to many people over a course of 40 days.

The passage we will be looking at today is from a book which has historically been the most relied on for strategies on how to do church. Bill Hybels said the local church is the hope of the world. The book of Acts is a blueprint – it is both prescriptive and descriptive because there were some things in this book that are not going to happen again, like the Ascension of Jesus. But most of it is prescriptive. The book is written by Dr. Luke as an extension of the gospel of Luke.

These are the beginnings - of the birth of the body of Christ – the church. So what in fact were the last words of Jesus?

4 things Jesus addressed in his last few days with the disciples- these are the 4 P’s:

1. The proof

a. Why did Jesus bother proving that it was Him and that he was indeed alive? Think about how the disciples were behind closed doors, afraid and self-arrested. Jesus, in his kindness gave them these proofs – to give them sufficient confidence. He entered a locked room, he showed them His wounds, he ate and drank with them.

AW Tozer says “If you have to be reasoned into Christianity, some wise fellow can reason you out of it!

 If you come to Christ by a flash of the Holy Spirit so that by intuition you know that you are God's child, you know it by the text but you also know it by the inner light, the inner illumination of the Spirit, and no one can ever reason you out of it.”

Proof is for the purpose of witnessing whereas communion is to build faith.

b. Communion with Jesus is the only way we will build faith. There is no counterfeit to the confidence we gain from simply communing with Jesus. “When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.”

Luke 24:30-31 ESV

2. The Promise –

a. Jesus mentioned numerous times about this helper, comforter who will be given to us and his command was to wait for the promise.

b. Gal 3:18 and 29 talk about the promise of inheritance.

c. Matthew Henry says it like this – “Temporal good things are given by Providence, but the spirit and spiritual blessings are given by promise”.

d. The Father gives the gift, but Jesus is the baptiser, he executes it and the Holy spirit himself is the gift. So if you have not received the holy spirit, let this be your time of waiting on God. All his promises are yes and amen.

e. What does waiting look like? Acts 1:14 – they continued in one accord to pray. My experience of receiving the Holy Spirit.

3. The power

a. What is peculiar about this promise is that it gives us power. Do we really need it? I am convinced that Jesus is Lord.

b. Imagine you walk into an antique shop and spot a 100 year old beautiful lamp. You bring it home and it doesn’t work, you get a bulb, rewire it and set it up on a coffee table. It is still not working. Why is that? It needs power. That is how important the power of the Holy Spirit is for us to reflect Christ.

c. IS the Holy Spirit relevant for today?

i. John 14:26 – He brings to remembrance everything that Jesus taught

ii. John 16:13-14 – glorify Jesus by taking what is Jesus’ and declaring it to us

iii. John 16:13 – Tell us what is to come.

So he has the past, present and future covered. The Holy Spirit is always going to be relevant!

4. The purpose

a. What qualifies us to do ministry? I am no theologian or pastor, can I share the gospel?  Yes, because I have tasted and seen! I am a witness. The power comes with a purpose and the purpose is always to glorify Christ because the Holy spirit glorifies Him.

b. The choosing of Christ is always followed by his charge. Mark 13:34-35 “It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—”

c. If you do not know what your calling is, go back to the last assignment Jesus has given every believer- ends of the earth have not yet been reached. So that’s a great place to start!

So in these confusing times, what can we really rely on? Our jobs, our health, our finances, or the Promise of the Father? Let us use this time to really wait well and apprehend the promises of God in our life and be witnesses.

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. 

SHARPEN 2017- Mission and the Church

This message was preached by Gurmeet Dhanowa of Tri-City Asha Church at the Regions Beyond Leaders gathering in India in July 2017.

For the audio please Click HERE

I got very excited about mission as a young boy. I had a good friend in the training in Goa. He told me stories of missionaries. As I heard these stories, something was burning in my heart. Eventually I got married. After that he spoke to both of us about moving within Mumbai and then moved to Punjab.

Definitions of mission- the vocation/ calling of a religious organisation, especially of the Christian organisation. An important job, especially a military one, where someone is sent somewhere to do.

Mission starts with God. 

John 3:16- God so loved the world that he sent his son. Mission started in eternity. We know the Great Commission. 

Matthew 28:18-20. But mission did not start from there. It started even before the world was created. God desired for a community. The Trinity itself is a community. But He desired a worshipping community of people for himself. So when He made Adam and Eve, He said, Go and fill the earth. I think one of things he meant was to fill the earth with His glory. But we know they blew it.

As we move ahead, we see the tower of Babel incident. All humans spoke the same language. They wanted to build the tower which would reach heaven. They were proud and arrogant. So God confused their language, but He did not destroy them- He scattered them. God wants a worshipping community for Himself and in order to do that. He scatters His people first. There was a judgment on them, but it was more than that.

Then for 70 years Israel was in captivity. It must have been difficult for them to believe. But If God didn’t do it, Daniel and Esther, wouldn’t be speaking to Pagan kings. There was only one Missionary the nation of Israel had and it was Jonah, and you know how he went. He didn’t want to go and God had to really force him to go there, to Nineveh which is Mosel in Iraq now. That is one of the few places in Middle-eastern countries where there is a sizeable Christian population. In the Old Testament, God gave them a vision, but they missed it. They couldn’t catch what God wanted to do. They started considering themselves an exclusive group of people.

Then in the New Testament, John the Baptist arrives and proclaims Jesus. Jesus touched many non-jewish people. Samaritan woman, centurion, etc. Jesus had begun to do what God planned for them from the beginning. He wanted a worshipping community. Then in Acts 1, Jesus says, you shall be My witnesses. The holy spirit will come upon you and you shall be witnesses to the ends of the earth. So that was Jesus commissioning them. Then we see in the New Testament- The church in Jerusalem was doing well. They were growing, signs and wonders were taking place. Then suddenly a huge persecution breaks out to the point that people have to flee the city. Then they become missionaries to all those different cities.

The early Christians had the words of Jesus, and the great Commission. Jesus told them to go into all the nations- preach the gospel, make disciples, baptise them. They took this very seriously. They could have responded in regret and bitterness, or preach the gospel wherever they went. The gospel breaks out into the entire asia and Europe. They took it seriously.

We see the story of Paul. As we read his life, his transformation. He is full of fire. Once he started, he never stopped. From Jerusalem to Antioch and then he went from one city to the next. He was labouring! He says, I have lived in plenty and I have lived in little. He has gone through great persecution. He had a mission in front of him. Jesus before going to heaven, commanded us to go into all the world and make disciples. So Paul took that seriously and until the end, he was passionately preaching the gospel. He is always thinking of going beyond.

 His life excites me.

William Carey- Came to India in a ship against the recommendation of his pastor, lost his sons to a curable disease, wife to madness and his printing press to fire. He rebuilt it and started from the scratch. Reading these biographies of these missionaries produces in us a fire to do the same thing.

Q. Why did they pay such a cost? 

I know of one missionary where God spoke to him about going somewhere after he got engaged. The fiancée did not want to go. So he left her. They were passionate about the Great Commission.

The Great Commission is not an option to be considered, but a command to be obeyed – Hudson Taylor

The average pastor views his church as a local church with a missions program; while he ought to realize that if he is in fact pastoring a church, it is to be a global church with a missions purpose."

I am not against quality, but the missionaries, they are not bothered about any material comforts. But what they are serious about is that they’ve got a strategy to reach the unreached. They have a map, gather their trainees and train them, and send them off to different places. They have a strategy of how to go to people. they just pray for the first 7 days. 90% of the time, someone comes and asks about what was going on. so they share the gospel. They start meeting and see people coming in and getting saved. They may not have what we have, but they see souls being saved.

Last Sunday we had baptisms at our church. We went to a Bible College building. It was like a haunted place. But in their hall they had painted this map of India and wrote what they want to achieve- the number of cities and villages. They train and send people.

We need to teach our people about mission. We must have a strategy to reach our nation. We are praying for 100 men and women who will go for church planting.

While he was on earth, Jesus taught his disciples that “this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14). That end is not yet, which means that the end of mission is not yet. We remain under the command and commission of our Lord and King to reach the world with the saving good news of his life, death, resurrection and ascension. However, one day, the task will be completed, and the fruit of the Son’s mission will be seen when an innumerable multitude from every nation and tribe and people and language stands before his throne and cries out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev. 7:9–10). On that day, mission will be no more, but true worship will only have just begun.

   

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.  

Vision and Values: Word of Grace Church| Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on August 14th, 2016. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

We are very blessed. We are well, we have good health, we have food, a variety of clothes to choose from, education and shelter. We are truly blessed.

Today we will go through the vision of Word of Grace Church.

The most famous prayer is the Lord’s Prayer. Matthew 6:9 onwards. The prayer of Jesus was that the kingdom of heaven would come on earth. Not only did he ask his disciples to pray for, he also did these things. As you read the gospels you watch what Jesus did. He travelled and healed the sick, cast out demons, proclaimed that the kingdom has come and called men and women disciples. Then he did what only he could do, he died on the cross and rose from the dead.

Before he went to heaven he gave the great commission, to go into all the world and make disciples of them baptising them and teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded Matt 28:18- 20.

Jesus is in heaven, but his body is here on earth.

Q. So how are we at Word of Grace doing that?

The other side is the great commandment. We want to make disciples and bring heaven on earth. Our tag line aims to nail those- Enjoying God, Making Friends, changing lives.

1.      Enjoying God.

Matt 22:36- 37 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Let's look at loving God. This is our priority- to pursue the presence of God. It's not about singing a few songs and moving on. In Exodus 33:14-16 Moses said that if God's presence does not go with us what's the point?

Q. What is it that distinguishes us from others?

It’s the presence of God! We should value this more than anything else.

Throughout scripture people were marked by the presence of God. When God'sPresence is with us, people notice. Will you be one who desires Gods presence? In order for this to happen we need to keep in touch with the precepts/ the word of God. That's why we have the GYM groups, IDT, etc. We seek the power of God. We don't just want to sing songs but do the stuff.

One way we get joy in our life is when prayers get answered. How powerful is a prayer meeting? You can tell by the prayers that get answered.

2.      Making Friends

The second greatest commandment is to love your neighbour as yourself. One of the things we want to foster is good healthy relationships in the church. Your background, age etc does not matter. One way we do this is by eating together. This is something Jesus did. He had the last supper with all his disciples. He cooked breakfast when he rose from the dead.

It shows that we accept them and they accept you. In our nation that is so divided based on caste we want to break those barriers down. In villages, the lower castes are not allowed to draw water from the same wells as the upper caste. We are all one in Christ. In Word of Grace, if you are new, you will almost always receive an invitation to lunch.

I’ve had the privilege of visiting many countries and churches. But this one church we visited in Holland stood out. After the service, someone came and invited us for lunch at their home and it had made such a huge impact, in this foreign country where we hardly spoke the language, to be accepted into their home to eat together and spend time.

Jesus didn't call us servants. John 15:15- “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” He called us friends. Our proof of this is as we demonstrate love to each other. Invite people and make friends. We are all different. But friendships and relationships are important. 

The number one problem in the world today is loneliness. You can have 2000 facebook friends, but how many will show up for their funeral. Invest your time and money in making friends.

3.      Changing lives.

If we only did the above two we would be a happy clappy club. We have a mission- To bring heaven on earth. To be changed and to change lives. Being born again is just the first step.

We do the discipleship blueprint:

·        Born again

·        Baptism in water

·        Baptism in the holy spirit

·        Added to the church

·        Serving

·        Giving

I have told you Abdullah's story. But they are many like that. We have a get connected course for new people.

Num10:29- “Now Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place about which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things to Israel.””

If you are new here I want to extend the same invitation to you. Come with us and we will do you good. We want to help equip you to be involved in the lives of others.

2 Cor 5:14- “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.” Jesus died for you and now he wants you to live for him. The prophetic word over us is that we will disciple people and then send them to the nations.

So, this is it- our priority is enjoying God, but we don't do it alone, we are making friends. So that together our lives can be changed and the lives of others can be changed.    

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 catalyst for a pioneering movement : Daniel MacLeod | FUSION 2016

This message was preached by DANIEL MACLEOD at the Fusion 2016 RegionsBeyond gathering in the UK.

The audio /video link please click here


We are Region Beyond which means we are about what is outside or outside our borders. We are a people who need to look forward and pioneer something.
Every movement is in danger of slowing down. Movements have become museums, they have become stagnant, safer and just more organised.

What will keep us?
Being pioneers, where we have our own stories.
Better strategies and organisation only make us better museums where we talk about the good old days.
Pioneers are those who let go of what we have right now and take hold of the promise of God.
Hab 2:14 tells us  that the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God even as the waters cover the sea.

Every time you go you are walking in step with this promise. Is 60 bringing light to the neighbourhood. people establish promises not movements. Lets look at the catalyst to the greatest pioneering movement .

 Exodus 2:23

What starts and sustains a pioneering movement?
Some don't like being pioneers. Some don't want to be a pioneer. In Exodus 3 Moses was not in a pioneering mood at this stage in his life. 
There were 2 reasons that stopped him and that could stop us. 

1. Past failure - He was on fire for justice etc. He knew God's promises. He went ahead in zeal with no planning at all. He probably through he as doing a good job and that people would praise him for rescuing that Jewish slave. He suddenly realised the next day that people were looking at him in a strange way. He tries to stop a quarrel this time and the people react. The people did not want him. His bubble bursts!!! That must have hurt. Exodus 1. Moses is found licking his wounds. Some are still doing it. You were at the cusp of something and then you were let down. Your past hurts can hold you back from going on. But  today is the end of that and God can heal you.

2. Present Comfort - Moses flees. He fights the shepherds at the well to allow the women to draw water. He gets married and now is content to live in the land with his father in law and his wife. He is now settling into a routine that is not pioneering, but is parallel with the promises of God.But you do not live with the promise burning in your heart. He is in a rut.
You can come to church, go to the Life Group but there is no spark. The pull of comfort is more than pioneering. The cares of this world, more of the stuff, more different things etc 
So what takes a stuck in the rut wounded shepherd to become a pioneer? Fire!!! 

The burning bush was the catalyst. Fire is what we need today. I am praying for fire!! 
Ps 104:4
" Preaching is logic on fire" M L Jones. We want flames of fire!
Samuel Chadwick in the 1800s in The Path to Pentecost " Men and women ablaze are invincible... the church is powerless without the Holy Ghost"

Revelation describes us as lamp stands. Without the fire of God church is boring.
Exodus 3:20 The angel of the Lord appeared before Moses from the fire.This is no ordinary fire- it was not consumed. Its an object lesson for Moses in systematic theology on who God is. God was demonstrating his might and power. God is saying you are a created being and you have tried on your own. I am the creator and I can create anything. I don't need wood to burn a fire. This was a small lesson on who God is.

Moses asks god who He is because he is thinking how do I explain this to the people. God says "I am who I am" Only God has the audacity to say "I is". I always will be "is". I simply exist within myself. Th Latin word - at, from , self. He is the un caused one. He needs nothing outside himself. We are totally different from God. We are very dependent on things around us.

"Take off your sandals" God is saying I and you are not the same. I am the creator , you are the created. When Moses does this , he is reminded that he is just come from dust.
He covers his face because he is afraid to look at the face of God. We are captivated and terrified. This God is not tame. He is a wildfire. We cannot become tame in our churches. When you come into the presence of the One who has infinite knowledge you would feel uneasy.

Why does this relate to pioneering? Because all this power is being made available to us!
v.24 God remembered the groaning and remembers His promise t His people. That's the point of the burning bush. God was giving His power to Moses . When you go on pioneering mission you know that you have all of God's sustaining power.

Chapter 4 God gave him a tiny demonstration of it. The snake. This does not happen naturally i.e  a staff does not turn into a snake. God does supernatural things.God does amazing things because He is not bound by the laws of nature.

Eph1: " Head over all things for the church". FOR THE CHURCH !!! Everything that we think is not helping is actually helping because the Church is at the centre of all things. So we don't need favourable conditions for a church to thrive because God does not need wood to burn. China has more Christians than the whole of Europe in spite of  100 years of oppression.

The past is not a predictor of your future.
All human hearts are the same . all are dead in their sin - so no ground is hard.
This is the ground that sets a pioneering movement. Pioneering mission is sustained in that you know that God does not need wood to burn.

William Carey " God's work will triumph. One conversion had a nation coming behind him. He was talking about India.
God want to set your  heart alight. he wants to use you.
We are coming to the living Lord Jesus, not a burning bush. He is the presence of God, the radiance of the Father's glory. The Shekinah glory. At transfiguration Jesus face was ablaze.

The Great Commission| Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on March 20th, 2016. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

Last week we looked at the great commission- Matt 28:18-20. The risen Jesus, defeating death comes alive and meets his friends in Galilee saying “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Commentators have said this was the commission to all disciples. To go into all the world and make disciples of nations, baptising them and teaching them to obey everything he has commanded.

We have had the privilege of obeying the first part, baptising the 4 people last week in the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. What about going into nations and making disciples? This Sunday we are doing that. We can’t all go to the nations. But some will go and we will play our part in sending them to the nations.

It is for us to realise what this is all about. This is the last chapter of Matthew. We have amazing teachings of Jesus recorded in Matthew. We come to the climax of the whole gospel- Jesus says, all that I’ve done, my death and resurrection- the end result I want to outwork in your lives is this- go and make disciples of all nations. We are privileged to be a part of sending Abdullah and Namrata to nations. But it does not end there- we have Kutzi, Dema, Chris and Jennifer, Van... we have nations coming to us as well.

If you look amongst us, we are from different parts of India. God’s goal is one new man in Christ. In our country there is such division. But in Christ, when we realise we have a saviour who has died for us, it doesn’t matter where you are from, we are one in Christ.

Jesus is giving the Great Commission to us as well.

Q. Why does the church exist?

Some people say, for fellowship. We heard testimonies that people come here and are touched by our love. That is great! Some say, it is teaching, and that is important. Some say, it is worship. Word of Grace is blessed where worship is concerned, with great worship leaders and musicians and God’s presence is here. That’s the central activity in heaven.

Although these are all important, the key thing is to go and make disciples. I want each one of us to get hold of this. Is your life aligned with that great purpose of Jesus? Are you involved in that?

The son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. He came to seek and save the lost. We have Abdullah and Namrata today as live examples. Stop and think about it. Abdullah was well paid in an excellent job being sent all over the world. Why would you give that up; to do what? They have chosen to give that up to proclaim the gospel. If they are ready to do that, making disciples must be very important. It is supremely important.

Now, each one of us need not give up our job. In your present situation, you can make disciples. One day at the end of time we are all going to die and stand before the judge Jesus. This is the truth. Revelation 20: 11- 15 “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”   

At this judgement, you can’t fake it because everything is recorded. This is very serious. Each person was judged according to what they had thought, said and done. If your name is written in the book of life, you will be spared. God the father wants us to proclaim this to all the people. In Genesis 3 after Adam and Eve sinned, they ran. God sought out man. Today, if your name is not in the book of life, God is calling you- where are you?

We have people all around us who do not know this good news and it is our responsibility to tell them. We cannot force them, but we have to let them know. We need to find someone to share the gospel with. We want to help our friends cross the line of faith from eternal death to eternal life.

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.