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.  

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on July 3rd 2022  by Colin D'Cruz. For the audio & video please click here.  To listen to the worship please click here.

MAKING FRIENDS

 We will have a slightly different sermon this morning. We meet in small groups called GYMs. GYM Stands for God, You and Me and we meet together to fellowship, eat together, study the word etc.

My message today is on the importance of meeting in small groups. This morning when you woke up, you went and looked at yourself in the mirror at some point. Every house has a mirror, but it is so important. James 1:23 “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like” God’s word is like a mirror for each one of us. It helps us in aligning our lives with what is good and what is true.

If I were to ask you, “when does the church meet?”, most would say, Sunday. But whenever even a small number of us meet is a church meeting. So what does the word of God say about the church meeting?

In the New Testament each time church is mentioned, most of them refer to meeting in a small group/ in a home. So when we meet at homes, it is as important as meeting on a Sunday morning.

In Acts 2: 46 “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,” so it is not just the large meeting but also the small gather that were important to the early Christians. In Acts 20:20 Paul says “how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house,”. Meeting together is important when on a Sunday like this or meeting at homes.

Someone once said that the Church is like a bird with 2 wings – the large and small meeting are like the 2 wings and both are important.

All of us at some stage heard the glorious gospel being preached, you put your faith in Jesus and your life was changed! Several things happened in that moment:

    1. Luke 15:7 “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” There was rejoicing in heaven

    2. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” You might look the same but you are a new creation

    3. You became a part of God’s family. God became your father and other Christians have become your brothers and sisters. When you meet a fellow believer, there is an instant connection. Have you experienced that? How does that happen? It’s something in the spirit.

This is the transformation that has happened. Sadly, there are Christians who come to Jesus and then just stay on the outskirts without connection or involvement in one another's life. As Rick Warren says, we have a personal faith, but not a private faith. So seek to build connection with one another. 1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” We are not lone ranger Christians.

1.              Acts 2 there were 3000 who were added to the number. Baptism is one step, and being joined is another step. Imagine you needed an organ transplant, there is a beating heart, which is useless on its own. But when it is placed in the body, it can do all that it is supposed to do. You are a part of the body and have a role to play. On your own you are like that heart in a box. GYMs help us get connected.

2.             Secondly, they will help us grow in our spiritual life. In a small group setting, almost everyone can participate and grow. Col 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God”. So let’s do that.

3.              In Acts 15:16 It speaks about how Priscilla and Aquila took Apollos to their home and taught them the word. The bible is full of one-another(s). It is only as we meet with one another that we can grow in our Christian faith.

4.              We can express love to one another when we are a part of a GYM group. We have so many stories among us of people expressing love by supporting and helping one another so well!

5.              Another area where small groups help is to practice hospitality. One way to do that is to have a pot luck. Even as a single man/ woman, you can make something and bring it to a potluck and show hospitality that way.

6.              It is not just about loving and caring about one another, but also about reaching the lost. We’ve got to say what can we do about reaching out.

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.  
 

Love In Action

This message was preached by  Colin at Word of Grace Church on September  15th , 2019. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

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-        Our tag line is "Enjoying God, Making Friends, Changing Lives".
We often focus on the vertical relationship but neglect the horizontal relationship.

In Acts, 120 believers gathered to whom Jesus had appeared.

After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
Acts 1:3 NIV

Jesus proved that He was alive. He died on the cross for our sins and rose again. If you have not believed in Him, you can do it today.

Jesus gave them a command - wait for the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:41, after the Holy Spirit came, Peter preached an amazing message and 3000 were added to their number that day.

Believing is one step and getting baptized is the next step.

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Acts 2:41 NIV

So from 120 that became 3000 and the Lord was adding daily. Imagine that!

Acts 4:4 They grew to 5000 men (+ women & children)

Acts 5:14 - More and more men and women believed.

Acts 6:1 -The disciples were increasing

Acts 6:7 - Increased rapidly

Acts 21:20 - How many thousands of Jews have believed!

What did they do?

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:42 NIV

This is how the early church was. There are some practices they were engaged in - BOB, Prayer, fellowship and the apostle teaching met together, met in homes, shared their possessions.

They had great love! They were together, they shared and had things in common.

One thing that we see in this - 10000 to 15000 people is huge. They met in the temple courts and in homes.

That's what I want to focus on today - "In home"
You took a lot of effort and came here today. That's great! That's one part.

Paul went from house to house. The large gatherings were important but they also met in homes, ate together. So there were small groups happening as well.

As a Christian, this is one area we need to grow in. There are some Dynamics that happen only in a small group that cannot happen in large meeting.

The church can be like 2 legs - the large meeting and the small meeting. When the small meeting does not happen, it hinders our progress. It is like walking hopping in one leg.
The large meeting is doing well. But the small meeting is not doing well. Some think it is not important and it's okay if I miss it.

John 13:34-35

The mark of a disciple is love one another. This loved cannot be shown in a large meeting. But we can have real fellowship in a small meeting. In a small meeting you can practice your spiritual gifts, pray, share you needs and burdens

Meeting in small groups is critical. Make every effort and make it to your GYM meetings.

What do we demonstrate when we meet together?
It's LOVE!

Yes, there is pressure from work, but for the sake of love, can we stretch ourselves? When we are in love, we don't think of time and distance.


Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.
1 John 2:9-11 NIV

John speaks a lot on Love.

From the verses, hate can be indifference. Love is an action word - a decision

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
1 John 3:1 NIV

Verse 11 - We should love one another
Verse 14 - because we love our brothers

The proof that you are Born Again is that you love one another.


Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
1 John 3:18 NIV

Love with action and truth.
Words come easy but action is costly.

Action + Truth - Go to the GYM meeting

1John 4:7-10 - God is love

Have you received the love of Jesus? Since God has loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John is full of instructions on love.
In a small group, you get to know one another, share heart to heart and the other leg gets strengthened. Take every important opportunity and meet.  Let’s value the Sunday meeting and the small group meeting

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. 

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