Setting Worthy Goals as a Church

  This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on January 12th 2025 by Lasya. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

Setting worthy goals as a church

Last week, Colin encouraged us to set worthy goals from the passage of Philippians 1 which includes our personal goals – developing humility, growing in spiritual maturity, striving for holiness. Today we will look at some of the corporate goals that we need to set as the body of Christ. 

Why do we need to set corporate goals? 

When the New Testament refers to church, in 80% of the cases it is talking about a local church. We have this idea that the “church” is this abstract amalgamation of all believers from all times, but when Paul or Peter or Luke talk about the church, they are referring to the church in Ephesus, the church in Philippi, the church that meets in someone’s house… it is not either or, but it is focused on the local with a vision of the global and eternal. We are born on our own, but we are born into a family just as in the natural. This family that we are born into is the church. The church is not an organisation, it’s a spiritual body – it is the fellowship of the redeemed. Romans 12:5 “so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

We need the local church in order to obey Jesus. Both the great commandment (Matthew 22:37-39 “7 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”) and the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”) are rooted in a place. In fact, the promise is that when the holy spirit comes upon us, we will be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.  

You and I are here by design to meet the purposes of God in this place and time. So as we step into this new year, let’s look at what is the role of the this church in this place and how do we set ourselves up to obey God. 

Q. What are some of the new year’s resolutions you’ve ever set that have actually stuck? When you reflect on it, what is the difference between the resolutions that stick v. the ones that don’t? Illustrations of gym or eating healthy, etc. 

• Commitment 

• Custom 

• Compelling vision 

1. Commitment. 

Q. What is Jesus committed to? 

Matt 16:18 “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Q. What do we need to be committed to? 

Acts 2: 42- 45 – “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers...And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.”

So there were some things that the believers were committed to (devoted to) – to the apostles teaching, to fellowship, to prayer, to giving- and they did all this in the context of a community.  

a. Apostle’s teaching – not just doing our bible reading in our personal devotion, but corporately. Do we come expecting God to speak to us through the word each Sunday, or do we go searching online for whoever the latest or most favourite preachers? 

b. fellowship – not just friendship but an intentional togetherness. Illustration – fellowship of the rings. It is coming together for a purpose - for mutual edification. Ephesians 4: 15-16 “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. From him the whole body, joined and help together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” 

c. prayer – most underused gift of the church is corporate prayer.

d. giving – tithes and offerings belong in the local church first. Giving is beyond this – it is giving of your time, resources, meeting the needs in the church. Many times, the needs are not monetary. Are we a generous community? 

2. Custom – our commitments need to turn into custom 

just saying we are committed to something is not enough. the road to hell is paved with good intentions

Jesus and the disciples had certain customs:

Luke 4: 16 “And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.”

Luke 22:39 “And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him” (prayer) 

Acts 17: 1-2 “7 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,”

Acts 2: 46-47 “ 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people”

Q. What are some of our customs? 

Is attending church on a Sunday a custom, it is something that is non-negotiable? Is prayer a custom? Lets look at how to turn our commitments into customs. 

A commitment requires good intention, but a custom requires good planning. Illustrations - how can we make it to church on time/ be there for corporate prayer. 

3. Compelling vision:

Q. What is Jesus’ vision for the church? 

Ephesians 5: 25-27 “25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish”

Revelation 21: 2-4 “ 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.[c] 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.””

Q. What is our vision? 

Colin will tell us next week. 

But it has to do with being salt and light in this place. it has to do with loving God and loving our neighbours, it has to do with make disciples of the nations starting with NIBM, Undri, Pune and to the ends of the earth. In all this, we are the hands and feet of Christ. when God thinks about the darkness and evil that is prevalent in this area, his answer is, let me send word of grace church there. 

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. 

Foundations of the Local Church - Part 2

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on April 30th 2023  by Colin D Cruz. For the audio & video please click here. To listen to the worship please click here

Foundations of the Local Church - Part 2

Last week we began the topic, “Foundations of Local Church”.

In Luke chapter 24, we see that 2 disciples walking to Emmaus met Jesus. They were downcast because they had seen Jesus the Messiah crucified.
When Jesus asked him why they were downcast and what were those things they explained everything that happened to Jesus in verses 19 to 24.

After this, we see that Jesus speaks to them and tells them things written in Old Testament. The question is – What did Jesus speak to them?

Gospel is a part of God’s big plan. The way we see things is through the glasses. Our beliefs, interpretations, and the way we see things depend on the glasses through which we see.

All that Jesus spoke can be covered under 4 major themes:-

1.     The Messiah

2.     The Temple

3.     The Kingdom

4.     The Salvation

All these 4 intertwine and make a beautiful tapestry. Today, let us look at the Temple.

What was the first temple? It was the Garden of Eden. How can we define Temple? A temple is a place where people meet with God. In Genesis chapter 3, we see that God met Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. After sin, they were cast out.

The next meeting point was the Tabernacle built by Moses. The third temple was the one in Jerusalem built by Solomon. Sacrifices were offered there for different kinds of sins and thank offerings etc.

When Jesus began His ministry, where was the temple? The physical temple was in Jerusalem.

John 2:19-22 - ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” ²⁰ They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” ²¹ But the temple he had spoken of was his body. ²² After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

So, while Jesus was on this Earth, His body was the temple. As we have already seen, the temple is a place where people met with God. Could a leper go to the temple in Jerusalem? Could women who were bleeding go to the temple in Jerusalem? No!

But in the streets, everyone and anyone could meet with the Living God. Even the unbelievers could meet the Living God.

God’s plan is to cover the earth with His glory. Jesus ascended into heaven. Physically He’s not here. So, where is the temple?

1 Corinthians 3:16 - ¹⁶ Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?

We are God’s temple. His presence is in us.

God’s plan is to fill the earth with His presence. When we come together, Holy Spirit comes and we are the temple of God.

1 Peter 2:4-9 - ⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house^[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”^[b]

⁷ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”^[c]

⁸ and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.”^[d]

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 

Collectively, we are the temple of Jesus Christ. That’s God’s plan – To fill the earth not with just physical temple but with people of God taking His presence everywhere. Every church is an expression of the presence of God.

Revelation 21:1-4 - Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”^[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’^[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Jesus is going to come down upon the earth. This is what we are looking for. One day there will be a new heaven and new earth. We are better off than Adam and Eve. They could sin in the Garden of Eden. But when there’s a new heaven and a new earth, we will not sin. There will be no sorrow, no pain and no crying.

Now we see a little bit of heaven on earth as we witness healing and miracles. But it’s not complete.

The temple took the following everywhere –

1.     Presence of God

2.     Power of God

3.     Purity of God

1.     Presence of God

You are the light of the world. What am I doing on this earth? Whatever you are, a teacher, student, engineer, doctor etc., you are the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

How can we be light and salt? We may not have the power to do big things but we can stand up for justice, righteousness, fairness and truth. Wherever you are – school, college, club, office, we always must bring the righteousness of God.

In the Bible, we see the woman who touched Jesus was healed. Now, when people touch us, they are touching God’s presence. We need to go into dark situations and give light - healings, lives we live, words we speak, things we do etc.

For many years there was slavery. But William Wilberforce abolished it. If you see, largely Christians do these things – fighting against sex trafficking, slavery etc.

From our church, the Marriage app makes a difference. I’ve been thinking about the persecuted Christians these days. There are 300 + cases against Christians. All of them are false. This is the way of the enemy.

During the time of Daniel, a law was passed that people should not to pray to God.

Similarly, laws are being passed in our country. Just as Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, Christians are being thrown into prison.

The ADF and Persecution Relief groups are standing up with the persecuted Christians helping them fight their cases.

My thought is to intentionally mobilize funds so that the cases can be fought, bail can be provided and families of the imprisoned believers can be taken care of.

Along with prayers, we must do something more.

John 1:5 -  ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome^[a] it.

As we support these organizations, our light is shining in the darkness.

2.     Power of God

Acts 19:11-12 - ¹¹ God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, ¹² so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

Wow! What an amazing power!

Acts 5:14-15 - ¹⁴ Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. ¹⁵ As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.

For the power of God to work, purity is needed.

3.     Purity of God

John 2: 13-16 - ¹³ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵ So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 

If you want to see the power and presence of God, purity is needed. All sinful habits and sinful thoughts must be replaced with good thoughts.

One of the things we can do is fast and pray. This is not to get God to do things for us but to humble ourselves. By fasting, we humble ourselves and we ask God. It is up to Him.

All promises are fulfilled in New Testament and now it is being outworked till Jesus returns. Wherever you go, take the light of Jesus.

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.