This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on October 20th 2024 by Colin. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

FAITHFUL TO SCRIPTURE

 All of us have a certain understanding of for world is and based on that we live our lives. 

Romans 12:1-2 - [1] Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. [2] Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 There's a command in these verses. Don't act or believe what the world says. But be renewed and transformed. 

 The world is trying to change is to fit its mould. There are different types of philosophies, and we have the freedom to accept anything. Every time we watch a movie or series, we are affected by them. What God says is that do not be conformed to the pattern of this world. 

The different patterns in the world that we see are - big fat Indian wedding, grand celebration of 1st birthday, reading horoscope, wearing different symbols, signs and rings for luck and protection.

All these are from culture and philosophies, and they try to fit us into their moulds.

So not think as the world does but be transformed according to the Word. We must ask ourselves - is this how God wants me to be or do? We must know the scriptures, study the scriptures and change our way of thinking and doing things. 

Four attributes of scripture: 

1. Authority of the scripture

The truth is in the Bible. It helps us understand what the truth is. In this world, there is no central truth on which all the people can believe. But Bible has the truth. Bible is the final authority. That is what divides us from rest of the world. The scriptures are words of God. 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - [16] All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, [17] so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

All the scripture is God-breathed. These are not thoughts of man but thoughts of God. 

2 Peter 1:20 - [20] Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 

The Holy Spirit worked in the life of Peter and used his character to pen down these words. 

2. Clarity of the scripture

Word of God is so simple that a child can understand but also difficult to understand. The great theologians still are confused about certain things in the Bible. 

Mark Twain said, "It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand."

We need Holy Spirit to understand the scripture, for revelation and for illumination. As we approach Bible in humility, not just to understand but to obey and ask the Holy Spirit, He will help us understand the scripture.

3. Necessity of the scripture

To live in this life, we need to know the scriptures. To live right in any kind of relationship, we need the scripture. The Bible tells us how to have relationships like parents, children, spouse, marriage and many more. 

So, we need the scripture to have healthy relationships.

4. Sufficiency of the scripture

2 Peter 1:3 - His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 

2 Timothy 2:15 - [15] Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 

Without scripture, we will not know God completely. There are hundreds of varieties of insects and many other living things. God created all of them. By looking at them we will not be able understand God. We need the voice of God to help us understand Him. The end result is that we are transformed by renewing of our minds as we read the scripture. 

We read scripture to understand and renew our minds. All of us are familiar with the SPECK model of Bible studying. 

As many of you are going on holidays, I encourage you to spend time by reading scripture and doing SPECK (Sin to avoid, Promise to claim, Example to follow, Command to obey, Knowledge to rejoice in)

Do this faithfully and see how it transforms your thinking and also your lives.

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. 

Rolling stones to living stones -1 Peter Part 4

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on August 27th 2023  by Lasya. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

Rolling stones to living stones- Discovering Identity and Purpose in Christ

We have been going through the book of 1 Peter. The letter is written by the apostle Peter to a scattered group of Christians undergoing severe persecution in present-day Turkey. We don't read this word simply as a historic text but as the word of God - breathed by the Holy Spirit- sharper than a double-edged sword. The word of God is inerrant and our ultimate authority. There are descriptive and prescriptive passages in scripture. Today we will look at a prescriptive passage. 

1 Peter 2:1- 12 (Read) 

In light of the previous passage(1 Peter 1: 23-25 “23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”)- Peter urges the exiles to do 3 things - an internal work(v.1-3), embrace their identity (v-4-10) and an external work (v11 onwards). 

The Internal Work:

1. So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 

Example of cleaning house. Matthew Henry’s commentary defines these words 

1. Malice- settled overgrown anger

2. Deceit- flattery, falsehood, and delusion, 

3. Hypocrisies. counterfeit piety, counterfeit friendship or pretend friendship when mischief lies in their hearts.

4.  All envies - grieving at the good and welfare of another, at their abilities, prosperity, fame, or successful labours. 

5. Slander - speaking against another, or defaming him; backbiting 

Action Point - Identify and throw it out clean house, and have nothing to do with it. 

2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Once you clean the house, you need to fill it with good things. Illustration of a crying child in the plane. Peter commands the people to long/ crave for pure (unadulterated) spiritual milk i.e. the Word of God. So craving is not a natural thing that happens, but something we can do. Illustration of craving for Bamboo Shoot Chicken. How do we crave pure spiritual milk - if we have tasted that he is good. Have you tasted the goodness of God in his word? (Psalm 34:8) Write it down. Reading Psalm 91 when we were sick. (Action Point). We are commanded to crave because he can satisfy us. He sets a table before us, in the presence of our enemies - even in the valley(Psalm 23). 

Embracing our Identity:

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 

Our understanding of who we are always starts with knowing who Jesus is. When Peter describes Jesus as a stone, the image is not of something harsh and rough - the image is of something strong and foundational. It is a fortress, a place of refuge and safety. They would go to the temple to meet with God, and the temple was made of stones. As refugees in a foreign land, these people would have been longing for the temple at Jerusalem. But Peter is saying, he has come to you. He is a LIVING stone. 

5 You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 

Think about who is saying this- Peter (meaning rock) and his prophetic call was to be the rock on which Jesus would build the church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

 As He is, so are we in Him. As he is chosen and precious, so are we. Don’t fall into the trap of self-identifying. He gives us identity. 

Being built up: Like a stone Mason first gathers other stones for the building to the cornerstone, we are gathered to Jesus. But the gathering itself is not the end - it is to be built up as a house. 

Illustration of a group project. If you see yourself as an attendee, you will think that it doesn't matter if you go to this local church or that. Or if you stay in this city or another. But when we realise that we ARE the church, we understand that when you take one stone out of the wall, it affects the entire wall. We cannot build with rolling stones. So would you commit to a local church and give yourself to be built up and united? 

Spiritual house: The Jews had the temple, a physical building where they would gather to offer their sacrifices. In the same way, today Christians also have a temple, but this is not a physical house, but a spiritual one. That is why, we can meet in any building, any house, any format and it is the house of God - it is the church. Our GYM meetings are a church, our prayer meetings are a church, and you having meals with your family and sharing about God’s goodness around the table is the church. It is NOT a physical building, it is a spiritual one! 

To be a holy priesthood: The purpose of this gathering is to be a holy priesthood. It is a community of priests who have been set apart. So we are not gathering to a priest/ pastor so he can bridge the gap between you and God. We are gathering as a community of priests, to encourage each other, so that we can go out there and bridge the gap between the unbeliever and Jesus. Your 9-5 job, your classroom, our reach out Sundays is church scattered like salt in the community- it is the work of the priesthood in the world. 

What is the work of this holy priesthood when we gather together - it is to minister to God. 

To offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God: Romans 12: 1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” It is not your wealth or your gifts - you are the treasure - can you give of yourself - not under compulsion or reluctance, but cheerfully (2 Cor 9 :6-7). 

Action Point: How can you present your bodies as a living sacrifice? 

6 For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
    a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Is 28:16) 

7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,” (Psalm 118:22)

8 and

“A stone of stumbling,
    and a rock of offense.” (Is 8:14)

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

The cross is offensive. The gospel is offensive, but by the grace of God, we were able to respond in repentance and receive his mercy. 

Summary: 

9 But you are a chosen race(Hebrew word Segulla meaning a special treasure), a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

This is the summarization of what he was establishing in the last 5 verses. Peter is saying that since it is true that believers have a new life principle (chosen generation), a new access to God (royal priesthood), a new government (holy nation), and a new owner (His own special people), it will affect the way the believer lives life. 

The External Work:

11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honourable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

We may never get the glory for our good works, but the object is that God gets glory from it in the end. 

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.  

How to reconnect with God | Chris B

This message was shared  by Chris B at Word of Grace Church on February 4th, 2018. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

Story from my own life- May 19, 2007- Just after midnight, I approached a young lady whose name was Jennifer Johnson and asked her to marry me. I won’t spoil the ending for you. 

Q. Why did I ask her to marry me?

Not because she could make perfectly round chapattis. The answer is that I wanted to spend the rest of my life in her presence. I didn’t want to go a single day without being refreshed by her presence.

That did not happen for some time, but finally we did get married. We had a small celebration that night with some friends and we went to sleep. That Sunday I was scheduled to preach something that I will be preaching today.

1 John 3:1-3 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 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. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

In verse 2, what we will be has not yet appeared. It doesn’t mean we will be disowned later. It means that we are not children of God in these bodies, but when Jesus returns, what we will look like and how we will be with him, we do not know. We will be in a body like him, not prone to sin or sickness. While we can describe what it wont be like, what we will be is harder for us for we have not seen it.

We will be like him. We know that because we will see him as he is. This is an important principle. To the degree that you see Jesus as he is, to the same degree, you are sanctified. The world doesn’t know us because it did not know him. As we go from death to life, we begin being transformed. 2 Corinthians 3:18- “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.” As we behold him, we are being changed from one shade of glory to the next.

That’s why in 1 John 2, he says that whenever he appears we will be like him because we will see him as he is. The transformation will be complete as we see him completely. This is a work that is done through the spirit. This is a spiritual discerning and not a physical seeing. It is a perceiving.

 Q. How do we do that?

3 categories of things that are going to help us:

1.      This July Jenn and I will celebrate our 10 years. Recently I was away for 8-10 days and I was feeling disconnected from her. We were not communicating, I didn’t know what was happening with her- we were just not in step. Have you ever felt that way with a family member? When we went out for one day, we reconnected. It is super-important for my marriage. In the same way, we need to regularly connect with God. It happens by experiencing him in his word.

2.      We also need to talk. We go to God and pray. God is an infinitely patient listener.

3.      Together- together with him. When we corporately gather to do together-together with him- to sing songs and worship him, be encouraged by others testimonies, the gifts of spirit encourage us to move forward together.

If we want to see growth, we need to be doing this regularly! These means of grace are very valuable for us. Think back to the verse 1 John 3:3. As we gather together- together with him, it strengthens our hope in him. It gives us greater desire for him. We are more delighted by him than the world.

Q. What does this look like?

When we have this hope, 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, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 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. 8 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, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls”.

There is a fourth idea, which I think is equally important- i.e. suffering: In this letter Peter is writing to a people who have lost everything. He speaks about the living hope. Even though they are suffering there is inexpressible glorious joy. When we are suffering we get a chance to come together and ask God for a miracle. But if you have joy even when you are suffering, it is sign to you that God is working in your life and that you are growing. When you have every reason to be unhappy, you rejoice instead of complaining, then you see the Lord grow in you in your walk. It is through the lens of suffering that we get to see how we have grown in Him.

Joy in the midst of suffering is a gift that is given to us. That is an excellent sign that we are children of God. I recommend that we do these things to grow and mature in God- to be transformed by him through seeing and knowing him. 

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

Crave the Word| Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on December 18th, 2016. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

Earlier the doctor would do a test on you, to see what was wrong with you. One of the surest sign that someone is unwell is a lack of appetite. That’s why look at their tongue. If that is ture for our physical bodies, it should also be true for the spiritual body. The lack of desire to feed on the things of God is the indicator that there is something wrong,

1 Peter 1:23- 2:3- “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”And this is the word that was preached to you.” Craving means to have a great desire.

Q. Do you crave the word of God?

John 8:47 says “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

John 8:31-32- ““If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” If you know the word and you obey it, then we are his disciples.

In Psalm 1:2 the psalmist says, blessed is he whose delight is in the law of the lord and who meditates on it day and night.

Q. Is it a delight or is it a chore?

Sometimes, it’s our flesh that wars against holy desires. We say to people, youre in my heart. It means, you’re close to me.

Think about this- you wake up late and you have to make a choice between having breakfast or read the word. What would you do? Job 23:12 says I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread! If he had the choice, he’d have read the word.

The normal is that we need to desire and delight in God’s word. 1 Peter 2:1- like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk. Babies are cuddly and lovely. But they are helpless. They can’t do anything. They are only interest in milk! Peter is giving us a strong simile. Once the baby gets hungry there is no more peace. This is the aspect of new born babies that peter wants us to imitate.

Q. How does someone come to know Jesus?

It is only through the word of God. Peter could have said, teach the word, meditate on the word, hide the word on your heart, etc. they are all important, but he says, crave for the word. The starting point is to crave it. We need to ask God to change our appetite.

Q. What do you spend more time on?

It is not what you say you crave, it is the amount of time you spend on what you’re doing.

Peter is reminding us that we are born again by the word of God and so you will crave the word of God. Then he says, rid yourself of all slander and malice,etc. If these things are in your life, you cannot crave the word of God. If a little child has had a lot of junk food, they won’t want to have milk.

The Bible will keep you from sin and the sin will keep you from the Bible.

Pure spiritual milk- is uncontaminated word of God. You need to be careful where you are eating from. When you have kids, you sterilize whatever goes into their mouth. In the same way, let’s start with the unadulterated word of God. Hearing from God is not a very difficult thing to do.

1.      Get a modern translation of the Bible

2.      Start with the gospels if you are reading after a long time. Don’t read sporadically but systematically. The Bible is a series of letters. If someone you love wrote a letter, how do you read it? You start at the beginning and finish at the end.

3.      Read it regularly. Feeding ourselves spiritually is similar to feeding ourselves physically. You don’t eat one big meal once a week. We feed ourselves many times a day- in bits and pieces. How can you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. So also read the Bible one chapter at a time. There is so much in the Bible that great theologians can’t understand it. But so simple that even small children can get it.

4.      Keep a journal, put the date and ask God to speak to you from the word. If you skip a few days, you’ll know how often you’re reading.

Q. How do you know the Bible is true? 

Just start obeying it and you’ll see your life transform. As you keep doing it, you grow strong. 

All the babies came out small and frail, but as they craved milk and fed on it, they have grown big. The same thing will happen in our spirit. 

 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.  

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