The Greatest Day in History

  This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on  April 20th 2025 by Colin D Cruz. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

The Greatest Day in History

Think about your life. There must be something significant in your life. Children remember their birthdays, and married people remember their wedding anniversaries. We also remember historic events. 

Today, we remember the greatest event in history - Jesus' Resurrection. 

Why is it so important? 

This body that you see is just a shell. As we grow old, we lose some parts, and one day this body will be cast out. But that doesn't end you. The real you is going to live forever. Where you live forever depends on Jesus' Resurrection. 

One day we will also be resurrected, and that body will live forever with Jesus or suffer in hell forever. The Bible speaks about this. 

Last week, we saw the message of Jesus' death. He gave up his life for us. His work is finished. He died on the cross for our sins. Death entered the Garden of Eden. Because sin entered the Garden of Eden, we die. 

Rose is beautiful, but it has thorns. When God created the rose, it didn't have thorns. 

Genesis 3:17-18 NIV - [17] To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. [18] It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

The sickness we have is all because of the fall. Jesus came to set us free. He died and rose again on the third day. 

Matthew 28:1 NIV - [1] After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

We see in the gospels that the women had a great spirit. Jesus' disciples deserted him but the women stayed.

Mathew 28:1-10

On the third day, a violent earthquake and an angel came down. The guards who were posted there saw something like lightning, and they were scared. The angel told the women that Jesus was not there and that he had risen. He told them to inform the disciples that Jesus was going ahead and would meet them in Galilee. As the women hurried joyfully, Jesus suddenly appeared to them and greeted them.

The message of Easter is one of hope. Jesus indeed rose from the dead. He came through walls, but he had a body, not just a spirit. 

There were others who were brought to life from the dead, like Jairus' daughter and Lazarus. They were only resuscitated because they eventually died. But Jesus rose never to die again. 

Jesus is the first fruits for us. One day we will die too. Those who put their faith in Jesus will die and rise again to be with Jesus forever.

 

1 Corinthians 15:3-6 NIV - [3] For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, [4] that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, [5] and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. [6] After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

If Jesus has not been raised from the dead, then our belief is useless. 

On the Earth, there's sin, sickness, accidents, suffering, death and much more. But not in heaven.

Romans 10:9 NIV - [9] If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  

Matthew 28:6-7 NIV - [6] He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. [7] Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” 

From these verses, we see that Jesus has commanded us to do two things - 

Come and see

Gilbert West want to disprove Jesus' Resurrection. And so he started to write a book. But halfway through, he encountered Jesus, and then he started to write the other way round. 

Lew Wallace wanted to disprove the resurrection, too, but he met Jesus and wrote the book, Ben-Hur.

Frank Morrison wanted to do the same, but ended up writing the book, Who Moved the Stone?

 

Go and tell

There's a dying world out there. When they die, they will be punished. Nothing can take away their sins. Sins are to be punished. Either you will pay for it, or we put our faith in Jesu,s who bore all our sins and paid for it all. 

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. 

1 Peter Part 3

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on July 30th 2023  by Navaz D Cruz. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

PART 3

1Pet 1:13-25 - Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

From verses 1 to 12 we saw that the Inheritance we have in Jesus is certain because it has been preserved by the power of God, proven pure those the trials we face and was predicted by the prophets of old.

Since they are such a privileged people it requires that they must live in a certain way.

The “Therefore” comes in the light of the above context. All this requires an appropriate response because there is something to look forward to in a future inheritance.

1.   THE MINDSET OF THE SAVED

V13 We now come to the meat of the letter. Peter is encouraging the reader to have a mind that is alert.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  (1Pet 5:8). He repeats this warning.

Having an alert mind means being discerning, wise, and able to distinguish between good and evil. It allows you to be prepared for action and not caught off guard.

What are some of the attacks on the mind?

You doubt God’s goodness, His love, and His faithfulness. You start questioning “Why is this happening to me?”. Rather ask yourself this question, “Lord what do you want me to learn in exercising my authority as a son and what aspect of your Character do you want me to understand more deeply?”

We can get attacked with the temptation to try and fulfil legitimate needs in an illegitimate way.

 A sober mind What is the opposite of sober? Drunk. A drunk person is not in his senses, can be tricked, and has no control over their body, emotions, thoughts etc. Sometimes we are so drunk with the pleasures of this world that clouds are thinking, and we cannot see right from wrong. You can be drunk on offence, self-pity, or defend yourself.

V14. Peter reminds them to be obedient and not to go back to their old ways of living, old patterns, and habits leading to sin. This was their lifestyle before they knew Jesus.

V15. He reminds them that a call to holiness is not new. V16 (Lev11:44-45, 19:2) God always wanted a people set apart from Himself who would live by different standards – they were supposed to be a light to the Gentiles.

The Apostles taught a lot from the Old Testament. That was the only scripture they had, and they applied it in conjunction with the teachings of Jesus which is largely the Sermon on the Mount and the parables. The difference is in the New Covenant we have the Holy Spirit to empower us to live this life energizing us from within. So it’s not external rules that we are forced to obey, but rather internal convictions that we want to follow.

Be Holy -Holy has become an old-fashioned word but this is what we are called to: to live at a standard above and beyond what the world lives by. It must be recognizably different and attractive.

V17 -Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 

V17. Once again, Peter reminds them that they are strangers on the planet. We are in the world but not in it. Therefore, we need to live with a degree of detachment.

We have made God in our image giving grace, mercy love truth etc. our definitions. Here Peter talks of God as a judge. Peter is talking to Christians. There is a judgement that we Christ followers will have to face. Not about heaven and hell but how we have lived. Our works will be judged. (Rewards vs inheritance).

1 Cor 3:13-15 We are saved by faith and not works. But we will be judged for our work, not faith.

2.   THE MOTIVATION OF THE SAVED.

1Pet 1:18-21 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

V18 – Our Salvation. Peter keeps circling back to this point: how we have been saved. He wanted the believer to have an eternity perspective given that they were being persecuted. He is reminding them that their salvation was bought by the precious blood of Jesus.

He is making a strong statement – “empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors”. What he is saying is that the law cannot save you. The Law must drive you to Jesus.

V20 Chosen - He reminds them that just as they were chosen according to the foreknowledge (v2) of the Father so also the Salvation plan was not an afterthought but was planned even before the creation of the world but has now come to pass in their lifetime and for their sakes so that they could come to faith.

We have not been redeemed by physical things that will perish, but by the costly blood of Jesus, therefore it requires a fitting response.

V21 Response How do we make ourselves pure or holy? Obedience is the key. When we obey the truth, we get rid of everything that is sinful, corrupt, and immoral in our lives.

What is my obedience quotient? How pure my life is, is directly proportional to my obedience.

What does this result in?

3.   THE MANNER OF THE SAVED

²² Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.^[b] 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴ For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, ²⁵     but the word of the Lord endures forever.”^[cAnd this is the word that was preached to you.

The understanding of our salvation, the testing of our faith, and the trials must result in a transformed life that is expressed in love for one another!! Amazing. Your obedience will get you a promotion, power, position etc. It will result in love for each other! I am reminded of John 15 where Jesus says “If you love me, you will obey my commands” – This is my command- love one another.

Obeying the truth. Only the Word of God can purify us when we put it into effect i.e., Obedience. Sometimes we wonder how a person who comes to church can still fall into grievous sin. The question to ask is how much they were putting into practice. And this is a warning for all of us too. Obedience is something Peter refers to again (Obedience that comes through faith v2).

V22b – Peter goes on to qualify this love – love one another deeply from the heart. (Pure heart). Without hypocrisy, falsehood, or pretense.

V23 WHY? Because we are now new creations (born-again) from an indestructible seed (Jesus) through the living enduring word of God.

V24.Peter now quotes the Old Testament to compare. Our world, our life temporal, here today and gone tomorrow. But the Word of God will never perish. It is immortal (Is 40:6-8)

CONCLUSION

Peter closes this section by reminding his readers that this is the true gospel. This was what was preached to you and don’t forget it, don’t allow it to be diluted or corrupted.

Don’t we all need this reminder as well? We constantly need to be reminded to stick close to the truth because straying away from it is so easy.

We need to be reminded of who we are, how we obtained our salvation, what we believe in and therefore how then we should live.

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.  

1 Peter Part 2

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on July 23rd 2023  by Colin D Cruz. There is no audio recording for this sermon due to a technical failure. 

1 PETER - PART 2

Christians are being persecuted all over the country today. Imagine if you were writing to a friend in Manipur right now, what would you say to them? 

In 1 Peter, we see a similar situation and the answer to the above question is contained in 1 Peter 1:3-9. 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

As I was studying these verses, I was reminded of going to a buffet. Every section is so rich and we don’t know where to start. Peter is the great apostle who walked with Jesus. In the gospel, Peter is a very well-known person. Paul wrote a lot of letters in the Bible. There are letters that were written to specific people addressing a specific issue. But this book is for a whole group of people who are being persecuted. 

While writing to these people, Peter calls them the elect. Elect means people who have been chosen by God. He tells them that they are just passing through this world. There is a new heaven and a new earth we are destined for. The Jews were scattered in the Old Testament times when they pursued idolatry. Peter is using the same word- diaspora, the dispersion. They were mainly Gentiles. 

1 Cor 6:11 - “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

When we are saved, there is a measure of holiness - we have put away some things and pursuing holiness. We are not just attending a new place of worship, we are a new creation. When we are really in love with Jesus doing things like going to the hospital at 12:30 in the night like Sunder did, is a joy, we do it for Jesus. 

Then Peter bursts out in praise in verse 3. He describes our salvation as a new birth into a living hope. Today we use the word hope like an optimistic statement. Here the hope that Peter is walking about is a sure and confident expectation. This living hope is guaranteed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Living hope means we have something to look forward to in the middle of all the suffering and persecution. This hope is as certain as Jesus being raised from the dead- that we will be raised from the dead in glory. 

Not only resurrection, but we will also have an inheritance. Peter is telling these persecuted Christians that they have an inheritance to look forward to that will not perish, spoil or fade. 

The Bible speaks about inheritance and reward. 

Revelation 21 gives us a beautiful picture of our inheritance. In Luke 19:17, we see the principle of rewards. “And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.'”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭19‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

All we receive right now is that we have a glorious inheritance waiting for us. The most expensive things in this world will fade away someday, but the inheritance stored for us is safe and kept in heaven.  Not only the inheritance but we too are kept safe. He will keep us safe till the end. Jesus sees us through.

Then in v.6, he starts talking about the trials that they have to face.  Michael Eaton “Any version of Christian life that depicts it as free of trouble is false and ineffective” 

But Peter here is helping them process their troubles.

Q. What are some of the troubles that you have in your life right now? 

Imagine God speaking into that situation - 

• We greatly rejoice in the inheritance and reward we have 

• We realise our troubles are temporary- it’s not by the measure of our understanding but it will end one day. 

• Sufferings vary - all types of suffering and grief. 

• The purpose of troubles - “tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ” Will you continue to praise God and serve God when things are not going your way. Job had this trial - his faith was tested and it came out purer than gold. 

What do troubles do? They perfect us, bring us to maturity, rebuke our slack, and prepare us for greater dependence on God and for greater usefulness in God’s kingdom. 

Luke 8:13 “And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.”

Testing will come, but will you fall away when they do? Amy Carmichael - She came to India from Ireland and set up a home for girls who were sold into prostitution. Towards the end of her life, she rescued over 200 girls. She visited a goldsmith who said, "I know the gold is pure when I see my face in it." It’s the same that God is looking for when he is refining us. Biblical writers talk about these troubles as light and momentary. They went through severe persecution, beatings, shipwrecks etc., for the faith. But they considered the glory to come as far outweighing it. 

“And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.'”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭19‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

There is a commendation from God that we are looking forward to. 

“Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The people Peter is writing to are in the middle of a great trial, but they love and trust Jesus. That’s the best we can give the Lord. There are gems of grace that can only be seen in darkness. When we are tested, make sure you don’t come out empty-handed. 

Troubles do not stop us from rejoicing. “and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭5‬:‭40‬-‭41‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The way to move forward in the Christian life is to trust and obey the Lord Jesus and he will give us the grace to rejoice in it. 

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.