The Greatest Exchange in History

 This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on  April 6th 2025 by Navaz. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

INTRODUCTION

We are in the season of Lent, and it is good for us to reflect on the Cross and some of the things Jesus did for us.

As we know from Genesis chapter 3 to Calvary, God has been patiently pursuing lost humanity. Rebellion, waywardness, self-centeredness, pride, and self-rule are so deeply ingrained in our hearts that humans often run away from God, disobey Him, fall into trouble, and then cry out to Him as though He has neglected to look after them. God would rescue him with His mighty arm, and you would think that they would have learnt their lesson, but no. A few years later, the same downward spiral of rebellion and self will start, and the whole nation of Israel will be in a mess again.

But God. Thank God for the But God!! God had a plan set in eternity where the Lamb of God was slain before the foundations of the Earth were laid. Rev 13:8

Jesus, in the fullness of time, came to reconcile us to the Father (2 Cor. 5:18). He came to redeem humanity, which was enslaved to sin and Satan’s rule (1 Cor. 1:30). He came to restore us to our divine calling, which was given in the Garden of Eden – to rule, have stewardship of the earth, and increase and multiply so that, as God’s image bearers, God’s glory would fill the whole world. This is what we have been saved for!

But for all this to happen, another perfect human, a perfect second Adam, needed to come and show us how to be truly human the way God intended all along. Only He could pay the price, live a perfect life, redeem by one selfless act and surrender life that Adam had gambled away.

THE EXCHANGE

OUR PLIGHT		WHAT JESUS DID FOR US
·      Two Trees Where Adam ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that led to death	Jesus hung on a cruel cross to give us life. 1Pet 2:24
·      Rejection We rejected God in our wayward rebellion and became orphaned beings.	Jesus took upon Himself our rejection so that we could be accepted. Matthew 27:46, Jesus cries out, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?", which translates to "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Is53, Eph1:5-6.
·      Sonship We were sons and children of God who became children of the devil.	Jesus, the Son of the Father, had to become a son of man so that we could become sons of God. Gal 3:26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith."
·      Unrighteousness	Jesus took upon Himself all our filth, our unrighteous acts, so that we could be clothed in His garments of righteousness. Zech 3:4 The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.”
·      Sin ·	He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor 5:21. God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Shame We were filled with shame because of what we had done.	Jesus took our shame and gave us glory. Heb12:2 For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God
·      Guilt We were guilty as charged and needed to pay the penalty for our sins, which is death	. Jesus took our guilt and washed us clean. Is 53:6 and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. What is the difference between shame and guilt? Shame is an emotion you feel around something you may have done or about how someone makes you feel about what you have done. Guilt is focused on action or behaviour.
·      Punishment We deserve punishment because we are guilty.	But our punishment was laid upon Him, and by His stripes, we are healed from everything. Is 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."
·      Curse Adam and Eve were cursed for their transgression, and that curse was passed on to all humanity	Jesus took our punishment, guilt, shame and curse on the Cross. Gal 3:13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'
·      Wrath A Holy God cannot stand sin. He was angry with sin	Jesus allowed the Father’s wrath to come upon Himself so that through the Cross, we might have peace with God. Rom 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
Bondage ·	Jesus took all our bondages, oppression and pain on himself so that we could enjoy freedom. John 8:36, Gal 2:13-15, Gal 5:1 5 Stand[a] fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage
·      Mourning and heaviness ·	Jesus took our despair, mourning, and heaviness and gave us joy, hope, and beauty. Ps 30:11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off [a]my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,”. Is 61:3
·      Eternal Death and Damnation We deserve to die and be eternally separated from God	But Jesus paid the price so that we might have Eternal life. He died in my place so that I might live. He took our damnation and gave us destiny! Rom 6:23, John 10:10, John 3:16

THE PASSOVER LAMB

·      God’s timing is perfect. Jesus dies at the time the Passover is being celebrated. Did you know that lambs slaughtered for the Passover were reared in Bethlehem?  One perfect Lamb was also born in Bethlehem.

·      Where lambs were sacrificed every year, the Lamb of God was sacrificed once and for all, an atoning sacrifice for all of mankind’s sins for all time!!  (John1:29). This Lamb, just like the other Passover lambs, was without spot or blemish, and not a bone was broken or out of place.

·      Passover was about the liberation of enslaved people. The blood of a lamb was put on the wooden doorposts to save them (Ex 12:3). Now this Lamb shed His blood on a wooden cross to save us from death.

·      The firstborns of the oppressors were struck dead, while the firstborns of those under the blood were spared. God’s firstborn was struck in our place, and His shed blood protects us who believe.

·      Right from Eden, blood was sacrificed as a covering. Throughout the OT, we see blood spilled in sacrifice for repentance and atonement.

·      When Jesus died, blood and water flowed from His side (Jn 19:37, Zech 13:1) - blood for atonement, for the forgiveness of guilt.

Water – purification to wash stains.

This is symbolically displayed in the two ordinances or sacraments we are asked to follow, namely the Breaking of Bread and Water Baptism.

·      Sacrifices were made in the temple. Jesus talks about Himself as the temple when He says in three days, he will tear it down and raise it up. John 2:19 -21 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” The temple was associated with sacrifice (Jn 2:21). Blood and water flowed in the physical temple. There is blood sacrifice and ceremonial washing. Blood and water flow from Jesus's side into the world out of the temple.

Jn 7 -Rivers of living water will flow out from you

In Ezekiel 47, you see the water flowing out from the temple into the world, giving life wherever it flowed.

·      While the Jews were looking for liberation from Roman rule, Jesus liberated us from Satan’s rule. The former had bearing only in a particular time and space. The latter has implications for eternity.

CONCLUSION 

·      The Son of God became the son of Man so that we, the sons of Man, could become sons of God.

·      The eternal living one dies so that those condemned to eternal death might have life forevermore. 

This is the greatest exchange of all history. Let us stand and worship and take part in one ordinance instituted for us, which is the Breaking of Bread.

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. 

Where have you set your hope? | Chris B

This message was preached by Chris B at Word of Grace Church on  April 14th, 2019. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

John 12:12-15
12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to
Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
    see, your king is coming,
    seated on a donkey’s colt.”

My wife Jenn and I went to a political rally where emotions were running high. We way we knew that is because whenever an African American man came on the stage, the whole crowd go crazy and start weeping thinking it was Obama. This scenario illustrated a troubling reality. They were putting their hope into a potential kingdom that would not last. There is an eternal kingdom and an eternal king and we have hope in that kingdom.

Q1. What were the crowds doing right?
1. Recognizing Jesus as the King of Israel. They read the prophecy from Zephaniah correctly.
2. They were celebrating him – That is the right response. They should be celebrating. They were
greeting him from quoting Psalm 118:26.  This psalm describes a procession into Jerusalem after a great deliverance. That is incredible
3. They were submitting to Him: They took their cloaks off and placed them down. I pray my heart would look like that. Those are the things we should also be doing

Q2. What is left to take issue with?
The palm branches were a sign of Israel’s national force. Jesus is not merely the King of my nation – he is the King of all! They were welcoming him in a political and military way. “Hosanna” is a literal translation of the word “Save us”

Q3. What kind of salvation were they seeking?
They were eternal people, greeting an eternal being asking for a temporal salvation. More often than we like, that’s no as well. We want Him to save us from uncomfortable circumstances. Are they calling out for freedom from oppression of Rome or oppression of sin? Are they asking for a release from shame before men or their shame before God?

Q4. What kind of a salvation do we seek?
He came to seek and save the lost. He did not come to bring cozy life on earth.
Hab 3:17-19 - 17 
"Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
    and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to tread on the heights.

Can we affirm this statement? Is the Lord enough for us? Are we putting our hope in this life or the life to come?

Q5. So what do we do?
1 Pet 1:13 - 13 says "Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming."

Set our hope fully – moment by moment – that Jesus is coming and that He is King forever!

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 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. 

The Gift of Salvation | Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on September 16th, 2018. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

2 Peter 1:12 – “So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.” I am going to do this, this morning. It is to stir you up by way of reminder. As we hear God’s truth, we get refreshed and stirred.

People say, ‘by the grace of God’. Even people who don’t know Jesus will say this. But I want to remind us about the wonderful Grace of God. Grace is the air of Heaven. we are in heaven only by Grace.

What is the Grace of God?

This world is caught up in sin and evil. Reading the newspaper is not a pleasurable experience. We are aware of sin- outside in the world and within us. Sin is all over the place. The atmosphere of earth is sin. That is where the world is heading as we see it.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. Because we sin there is punishment and penalty. There is physical death on earth and eternal death. It is the same for each and every one of us. 

3 things that the Grace of God does:

1.      The Gift of Justification: Romans 3:24 “and we are justified by his grace as a gift”. Because of sin we have negative marking. We deserve punishment. But the good news is that Jesus saw us in that state and came down from heaven and took the form of a man, lived a sinless life and he paid the price for our sins. Justification means God looks at us and instead of saying guilty, he says not guilty.

If we believe in who he is and what he has done, he promises that our sins will be completely forgiven. Not only is our negative marking forgiven, he gives us the grace marks he achieved.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” God sees us as righteous- positionally and not in performance. We are as righteous as Jesus in our position. But we are not there in our performance as yet. He enables us to become righteous. We need to cooperate in that process. One of the signs that we are truly saved is that we want to become like Jesus.

2.      The gift of Eternal Life: Everyone wants to live. Eternity has been placed in the hearts of men. When people desire death it is an abnormality. 
When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden, they could eat from the tree of life but they sinned and chose the other tree. What happened in the Garden of Eden has been reversed in Jesus. Now we have eternal life through Jesus. 1 John 5:13 “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

The creator of the world wants to gift us eternal life. We cannot earn salvation. Sometimes we start by grace we try to live by law. We try to earn God’s favor and pay for our salvation. We can’t do that. We are called to live a righteous life, not to earn our salvation. If you put your trust in Jesus today you will have eternal life right away.

3.      The Gift of redemption: If something has been re-purchased or  a buy-back, it is called redemption. Everyone is a slave to sin, but Jesus came and set us free. 1 Corinthians 6:19 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”  If you have trusted Jesus for your salvation, we are purchased with a price. 

So how we live our lives is important. Law doesn’t have any hold on us. He placed us into his family. Everything Jesus owns is ours- we are co-heirs. He has delivered us from the bondage of sin. 
Titus 2: 11- 14 “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” 
The Grace of God s not a license to sin. We are able to say no to sin and worldly passions and live upright in this present age.

This is our great hope. So how should we live? We are eager to do what is good! There are so many needs in the world. There are all kinds of needs. God has a plan and a destiny for each one of us.

Let’s pray.

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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.