Focus 2024 - Part 1 - Who are you living for?

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on January 7th 2024  by Colin. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

Who are you living for?

When we meet someone after introducing ourselves, what is the first question we ask them?

It is, “What do you do?”. Instead try asking them, “What are you living for? Ask the same question to yourself, what am I living for?

Some live for money, some live to retire and have a relaxed life and some live for fame want their name to be up in the lights. Today, it is not about lights, but it is about likes and followers.

Some live for approval, some for comfort, some for travel and holidays and some for food. What am I living for? We may say, I’m living for Jesus and maybe you are.

In the movie, “The Pirates of the Caribbean”, Jack Sparrow has a compass which points to Black Pearl. What is our compass pointing to? Sometimes, our compass can get demagnetized. If that is true, this new year, we must get our compass re-magnetized. We must truly live for Jesus.

Recently when we were clearing stuff at our home, we found a pile of journals. I encourage you to maintain a journal, take down notes and write down what God speaks to you.

This morning, let us see how we can re-magnetize so that we point to Jesus. Today, we are alive not because of different kinds of diet and exercise, but because it is Jesus who kept us alive. Let us look at,

Matthew 16:13-28 to find out the true purpose of our lives.

Matthew 16:13-14 - 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

Even though the disciples saw Jesus doing amazing things, they still had a faulty understanding.

Caesarea is a place which is centre for Roman and Greek idolatry. A huge temple was built for Emperor Augustus. Amid idolatry and false Gods, Jesus asked this question. Who do people say I am?

People said that Jesus was John, the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah.

Matthew 16:15-16 - 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

When Jesus asked the disciples who they thought Jesus was, Simon Peter answered, “Christ, the Son of the Living God”. Some people think Christ is the surname. Christ means Messiah or The Anointed One.

John 5:17-18 - 17 In his defence Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

Several times, Jesus claimed equality with God. Jesus, Son of the Living God, is the greatest confession of the Church. To align our compass, this is the first thing. Jesus is the Messiah, Savior, the Anointed One.

John 20:28 - 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

John 6:68 - 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 

We are a bunch of people who come together not to hear a motivational talk, but to declare, confess and agree that Jesus is the Son of God.

1 Tim 3:15 - 15 If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 

God’s household is the Church. In the world today, there is confusion about God. Even the most intelligent people may not understand the spiritual truth. A high IQ does not necessarily translate to a high SQ (Spiritual Quotient).

1 Tim 3:16 - 16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit,[d] was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

Appeared in the flesh – born in the human body, vindicated by the Spirit – filled with Spirit, seen by angels at the time of resurrection.

Gospel needs to be proclaimed to every people group. Only then the end will come.

How did Simon come to know who Jesus was?

Matthew 16:17 - 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood but by my Father in heaven.

The truth was revealed to Simon by the Father in Heaven. The great confession comes with revelation but not with the human eye. The supernatural revelation comes as we read God’s word. Scriptures are essential.

Luke 24:27 -  27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

On the road to Emmaus, Jesus explained many things about himself from the scriptures.

John Calvin says, “If the Church doesn’t have sound doctrine, exposition of scripture, Church discipline, baptisms, Lord’s table, then it is not a Church.

Matt 16:18 -  18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it. 

God has to touch a person’s heart so that they see who Jesus is. We are in darkness till Jesus opens our eyes. Many people get confused with the above verse. They think the Church will be built on Peter. The truth is the name Peter comes from Petrus, which means Stone. But the verse talks about a Rock. The rock is very huge.

Matt 7:24 - 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

A house can be built on a very huge rock. So, Jesus said that he would build his church on the truth that Jesus is the son of God. One of the principles of studying God's word is to interpret the scripture, by comparing it to another scripture.

What are we living for?

This is seen in the next few verses.

Matt 16:24 - 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.

I encourage you to read this verse and meditate upon it in the coming week.

Let us establish this –

1.      Jesus says, I will build my Church.

2.      The Church is built on the revelation of who Jesus is – The Son of the Living God.

3.      We can only get this revelation by supernatural touch from God himself.

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.   

Sharing from Marathon Part 1

This message was preached by Colin and NavazD at Word of Grace Church on June 2nd, 2019. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

As you all know we went to Greece for a conference and we met at a place called Marathon

There's a history behind this name through which the running long distance is named as Marathon.

Years ago there was a war between Persia and Greece which was called The Battle of Marathon. When the Greek people won the war, one of the Greek soldiers ran to Athens to announce the victory of Greeks. 
So, when we meet there, it was like heaven because there were people from different countries, speaking different languages.Today we're going to share some of the important things that were shared in the conference.
Some of the prophetic released were -

* New Era We are entering a new era. It’s not going to be old but totally new. Seasons are recognizably what we have experienced before. However, an Era is something new that we have not experienced. You have to leave somethings behind and adjust to what is to come.

* Build a legacy - shared by Navaz

We have been used to doing things in a certain way. God wants to break the mold and do something new. We have put God in a box and he is saying take the boxes off. We are going to do movement and Regions Beyond like something we have never done before.

Regions Beyond is not about a slick structure but it’s about being led by the Spirit. The Spirit will mark and make us distinct in who we are.

The eternal principles in the Word of God will always be our plumb line but the practice outworking – the practice of what each church looks like will be different for each one.

For each one of us we are called to build and leave a legacy. A legacy that will last forever form one generation to another. Each of us have a mandate and responsibility to do this. What version of Christianity will we leave behind? Will the next generation stand on our shoulders and take it even further, and this is the charge God is giving us.  We should be able to say I have fought the good faith of faith; I have 


Steve Oliver's sharing:
Neh 1:1-4
When we see our city, do we see it with our eyes or through the eyes of God?
Nehemiah was in a very good position. He had good food, good clothes because he was very close to the King. He was the cupbearer of the King. 
But he was concerned about Glory of God. He prayed, fasted and mourned for his city. Do we look at the city of Pune as God sees?

e.g. London is a very beautiful city 
But initially it was not like that. There's was an area called Devil's Acre. It was notorious slum. A man by name Samuel Martin, along with 25 people decided to move into this place. They faithfully preached and worked for the poor, cared for the sick and prayed for them. The result was - within 20 years, things changed and the church grew to 1000 people. It's a transformed place and is famous now.

Steve gives us 3 insights -
Faith like Nehemiah and Samuel Martin. To transform people, cities and nations.
1. Look at our city through God's eyes
2. Nehemiah and Samuel Martin acted upon what God has put on their hearts.
Let's ask God to use us to transform our city. We must love and serve people of this city
3. Lean into God
The task we're given is very big. We need supernatural help. Hence its very important to lean into God


Sharing by Daniel _  A vision of Jesus that will sustain us Revelations 4&5
We must lead in confidence and purpose in ourselves.
We often lean on wrong people and wrong things. But we need to lean on God and that's when we see God's glory.

In chapter 4, John refers to the throne of God 19 times. HE cannot get over the throne. Every time the saints get a glimpse of heaven they see the throne. Isaiah and Ezekiel saw the throne and were changed. The one who sits on the throne is the one who is in charge.
 We can feel overcast by governments, politics et cut we are told that there is a throne to which every throne will bow. Even Satan will bow to this throne one day.
In chapter 5, scroll with 7 seals.

John weeps that there is none to open the scroll.

This new era will be marked with weeping. When did we last week over our nation?
While John was weeping, one of the elders tells him to stop weeping.  Behold! The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David. Jesus is the lion – born in humanity under the power of the Holy Spirit. He walked on the earth like a lion – he owned everything, spoke with authority and lived without fear. Jesus the infinite lamb and lion were strength and meekness 2 diverse excellences combined in one being.

What do we do and how do we do to transform the city?

John lived a fulfilled life and was confident of the promises of God for the future.

At the end of the 7 letters to the churches in Revelations John writes - lift up and see the glory of God. John saw the glory of God. We need to see the glory of God. When times are hard we need to see Jesus. John saw the glory of Christ.

On the scrolls is the purposes and the judgments of God for all the nations. God has a plan to bless us. The scroll sat upon the right hand of God and God is holding it out open toward heaven.

Who is worthy to open the scroll? The angels eye all of heaven and find no one can open and look into it. Imagine the descending realization- no creature, no angle could step forward.

Theological accuracy is not enough. We need doctrinally shaped minds and hearts that break over the nation.

When did we last break over our nation?

The way Jesus displayed his lioness is by becoming a lamb.

Ch 5 v9-11 the Lamb opens the scroll. Jesus could have exercised his lioness on earth .But he chooses to be the lamb t the slaughter.

Satan thought he could get the better of the lamb. Col 2;15  

But the lamb was orchestrating everything. Death thinks it has won but the lamb gets up and ascending, sits on the throne – the lamb that once was slain.

This is what we should remember – in all that, we do. We lose everything if we do not have our hope in Jesus. We can go in confidence and tell people that their names race written in the lamb’s book of life that their debt has been paid for.

The 100 year prayer of the Moravians was amazing. They were lion sin confidence willing to die as lambs.

May the lamb receive the reward of his suffering” This used to be their prayer.

We are embarking on a new Era- we don’t know what before us but this can be our prayer in all we do.

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. 

Is the resurrection power at work in your life? | Augustine K

This Easter message was preached by Augustine K at Word of Grace Church on  April 21st, 2019. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

Today is an important day because it is a reminder for us Christians that 2019 years ago our Saviour, Lord Jesus Christ rose up from the grave. It is also a reminder for us to tell others who don’t know Jesus that our God is not dead but a living God who forgives and saves. He is risen! HALLELUJAH!

My three points for today’s message is:

1)      Revelation

2)      Resurrection

3)      Recommitment

We will look at the power of the resurrection thought the lens of Peter. Peter was an ordinary fisherman man – an uneducated man. He encountered Jesus in an amazing way. He saw an amazing catch of fish and Jesus said follow me. Peter left his business aside and followed Jesus, traveled with him and ate with him. Jesus gave authority to all disciples to heal the sick and cast out demons. Peter healed the sick and saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead.

John 11:25

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Among all the disciples, Peter was the one who God this amazing revelation from the Father. When Jesus asked “Who do you say I am?”

Matthew 16: 13-18

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it.

Peter who Jesus was: the Resurrection and the Life, the Messiah, and the Son of the Living God. A time came where everyone were plotting to kill Jesus, his own disciple betrayed him and all the disciples scattered, but Peter followed Jesus. How did he follow?

Mark 14:54

54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.

Notice the word at a distance. Peter followed Jesus at a distance and at that time of testing, Peter followed Jesus saying “I don’t know who he is, I don’t know this man, I swear, seriously I swear I don’t know who he is.” Like this he denied Jesus 3 times. Even though Peter had this amazing revelation, saw signs and wonders and miracles he was afraid. He walked at a distance and denied Jesus.

Now this brings us to the Resurrection.

Jesus was flogged, he was whipped, a crown of thorns was placed on his head and they nailed him to the cross where he bled and he died and they placed his dead body in the tomb

“There in the ground

His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious day

Up from the grave he rose again

And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ”

Jesus is alive, he is living and breathing. He appeared to his disciples and gave them a job to do: to go and proclaim the gospel to the ends of the Earth to every nation, every tribe and tongue.

This brings us to recommitment.

We see how Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit allowed the resurrection power to work in his life. He proclaimed the gospel with signs and with wonders and many gave their life to Jesus. Fearful Peter became fearless Peter. Hopeless Peter became hopeful Peter. How do we know that?

1 Peter 1:3-7

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Peter lived with conviction that suffering on Earth is worth nothing compared to the glory and the inheritance that will be revealed when Christ returns. This caused him to proclaim the gospel with hope and fearlessness.

Peter is a representative of us in many ways. In many ways we are like him. We know who Jesus is, we have seen the miracles, signs and wonders, yet sometimes we are afraid and we walk at a distance and lack intimacy with Jesus. Sometimes we don’t tell our friends, we keep quiet but the resurrection power transformed Peter and it can you and me, it can transform this nation, it can transform every person.

Are we living in fear or are we living a hopeful and fearless life?

The verse says: “Perfect love casts out all fear.”

Let the love of Jesus cast out every fear from your life. Jesus loves us so much. Imagine for the first time when you fall in love with your respective wife. You go full out – you express your emotions, you give your time for your loved one. You will prioritize your time for the loved one. You will cook, bake, and things that you didn’t do you would now do. Sometimes you may stay up whole night talking to your loved one. You will keep checking on the person. In times of difficulty you will stand with that person – in sickness, in trials and in every circumstance you will not leave that person. Even if the whole world is against your loved one you will stand with that person protecting and defending. Jesus did the same for us. As you spend time with Jesus let his love cast out every fear in your life. Let us also love one another like Christ loved us. If there is any resentment or unforgiveness, let love cast it all out.

Are we allowing the gospel to transform our life or do we need to come to a place of recommitment?

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. 

Jesus is Greater | Alex G

This message was preached  by Alex Godinho at Word of Grace Church on May 6th, 2018. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

In Nigeria, when I was walking with my colleagues, a friend of my stepped onto a pile of cowdung and slipped and fell on it. Sometimes, I think our life is like that- we are going along and suddenly find ourselves in a mess. It is not expected. We think we are all in control and suddenly something comes up. It could be a misunderstanding in a family- arguing, bitterness and we wonder how we got there. Maybe someone is in the centre of this kind of a mess. It is like an addiction that is fun at the beginning and suddenly you find that you can’t get out of it. Or a financial issue- it starts off as small loans and then one day you realise that you are in a huge mess. If you are struggling with this mess, the Bible has many words of encouragement.

The book of Revelation was written for our encouragement and not to scare us. Many early church leaders were killed for their faith. John, Jesus’ beloved disciple, was stranded in the island of Patmos. Christians were really in a hard season and wondering if there was a God and someone to help them. This is where the book of Revelation comes to tell us that he is coming back. Jesus shows up personally through a revelation. Rev 1:1- “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place”. Revelation means unveiling of Jesus. The New Testament gives a picture of Jesus- in his humility, serving people, compassionate and loving. But in Revelation we see another side of Jesus. Jesus in his glory! We get a bigger picture of Jesus. He is a conquering warrior. When we see who Jesus is in his glory, we can let him take control. Jesus wins and he wins all the time! So through faith we can share in his victory.

We also need encouragement – so we need to remember that Jesus wins.

1.      Recognise the real Jesus- If look at the news there is total chaos. If Jesus is not at the centre of our lives, we too can end up in chaos. We could succeed but won’t be lasting success. Rev 1:4-5 “Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” Of all the names that we read of Jesus in the Bible, this is the coolest to me- he is the ruler of the kings of the earth. This is significant because in the olden days, kings dominated every sector of society. They controlled media, arts, commerce, etc. When Jesus comes along in Revelation, he is called the ruler of the kings of the earth. Jesus is saying, I am Large and in-charge.

Peter and Paul died for their faith and even John is exiled in the island of Patmos. But when we are in the darkest hour, we need to remember that God is still in-charge. When you look beyond your immediate circumstances, you will see that Jesus is bigger.

2.      Share in Jesus’ victory- Jesus redeems our mistakes. Jesus gave his life so that things could be put right. In Rev 1:5 “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood”. Our responsibility is to receive his grace and his mercy. We believe that God forgives. But has he forgiven me? It took me a long time to realise that God has forgiven me completely. If you put your trust in him, he forgives. Jesus was more than enough to pay for our sins. So we are here to share in his victory. Rev 1:6 “and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.” This phrase kingdom of priests comes from the Old Testament when the Israelites are brought out of Egypt and did not know their identity. So God gives them identity- that they are a kingdom of priests. We are the same. You are not what people say you are.  You are who God says you are. He says we are loved, we are a kingdom of priests, equipped to serve and follow him. Rev 2:17 “To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” In Pergamum- white stone represents someone who won a victory. Athletes in that day would get a white stone that signifies that they are winners. We don’t have to wait to receive that stone because we are already victors.

3.      Look forward to Jesus’ return- we all go through rough times but we need to endure. I was pushed around at work and not given what I deserved for 19 years, but in 6 years I was promoted more than what I would have earned in those 19 years. We need to hang on to our hope in Christ, no matter what the difficulty in front of us. Look beyond the junk. Rev 1:7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him,even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”So shall it be! Amen.” We will live with God forever. When he first came, he came as a baby in a manger, in meekness. But when he returns he will be the conquering king, the Lord of lords, seen by everyone, a judge, bringing peace to the world. Jesus wins and we share in his victory.

Your life is marked by your love for God and love for people. At the end of your life this is what counts. It is not more complex than this. Look at the people He has placed in your life and start valuing them. We need to start forgiving and understanding one another. Love God and Love others. Let’s pray.

 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.