Foundations of the Local Church - Part 2

 

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

Foundations of the Local Church - Part 2

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

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

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

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

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

1.     The Messiah

2.     The Temple

3.     The Kingdom

4.     The Salvation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

⁸ and,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The temple took the following everywhere –

1.     Presence of God

2.     Power of God

3.     Purity of God

1.     Presence of God

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Along with prayers, we must do something more.

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

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

2.     Power of God

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

Wow! What an amazing power!

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

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

3.     Purity of God

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

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

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

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

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.  

Foundations of the Local Church - Part 1

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on April 23rd, 2023  by Colin.  For the audio & video please click here. To listen to the worship please click here.

Introduction:

Why do we exist as a church? What is the reason for our existence?

Many people come to faith and have an incomplete view of the plan of God for the church.

Ill.

Otherwise, we will be like the 3 men who were working on a construction site

I am carrying bricks

I am  placing the cement on the bricks

I am constructing a hospital that will save thousands of lives

We need to have a vision for the church and a biblical basis for why we exist and what is it we are called to be and do.

 

Or we can be like a family who came to church …

How was it today?

The music was too loud

The preaching was too long

Youngest – I don’t know what you are complaining about – for the Rs. 10 we put in the offering we got cold drinks and chips for all of us!

 

With an incomplete or faulty view of the plan of God, we can become consumer Christians all the time asking the question – “What can I get out of it”. “How does it suit me”.

 

Every church has a foundation. Eph 2:20 Eph 2:20 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

This foundation needs to be laid in every church in every generation.

This is what the church is going to be built upon.

Paul laid a clear foundation - knew what it was and knew when he laid it.

1 Cor 3:10 10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Acts 14:22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.

What is that foundation?

The narrative of God's plan throughout scripture.  The overall plan of God is revealed in Scripture. And determines a biblical worldview.

The promises found in the Old Testament are fulfilled in Christ and now worked out by those in Christ believers both Jews and Gentiles

you cannot understand the New Testament fully without understanding the Old Testament.

 It was God's plan to renew the world to head up everything under Christ

 We all have a worldview. What is a worldview? Every culture has a worldview. How the culture looks on the whole world. At the deepest level of culture often when we talk about culture we talk about external manifestations - what people wear, what they eat.

The deepest level of culture which you don't know you have is how you look at the world. Worldview is essentially a story. World view determines our beliefs and our behaviour

ill.  food habits

some people don't eat pork

some people don't eat any meat - only vegetables

some people don't even eat garlic potato and onion

 

We all have a worldview shaped by our family, school, religion, country

but it is not just food habits - all of life is shaped by our worldview

 

What is the truth?

or rather - Who is the truth?

 Jn 14:6 I am the way and the truth and the life ...

Jesus claims to be the ultimate truth

 In the biblical worldview, we know the new story of what God wants to do in the whole earth - biblical worldview

 A worldview is like wearing coloured glasses

wear blue glasses- see everything as blue

The narrative style of preaching generally used by Jesus

he used parables and stories all the time our worldview helps us interpret events

 e.g. Luke 24:13 - The first Easter Sunday when Jesus was raised from the dead

 

Luke 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets he explained to them all that was said in the Scriptures concerning himself.

OT Scriptures

Jesus taught them the big story

Luke 24 Emmaus road

Jesus opened up from the Old Testament  

Luke 24:77 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

 

Going thru Genesis thru Revelation

Our task as church planters are to first get a biblical worldview and then pass this on to the people we are reaching.

 Another way to understand worldview is to understand the Grand Story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth created man and woman in his image the plan was to fill the earth - with his glory

Gen 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and increase in number. fill the earth and subdue it.

The Garden of Eden - the first temple where God met with men and women

That is what a temple is - where God meets with people - not a building

The idea was to spread that throughout the earth

However, sin came into the world and instead of it being filled with the glory of the Lord Gen 6:5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time

the whole earth was filled with wickedness

But God started making promises as soon as sin came into the world

God is a wonderful redemptive God who loves to save

the first promise - promise Gen 3::15 And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman, and between your offspring] and hers;
he will crush[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.”

 Notice the redemptive character of God – Adam and Eve sinned and God made a plan to rescue them.

 The example of Noah. even when wickedness comes there will be a way to escape

Noah found grace/favour in the eyes of God

8 But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord.

Noah

Not that he was not a godly man - but he found favour/grace with God

After Noah came out of the ark the same command was given - it was  a missionary command Gen9:1

Adam and Eve had a missionary command to fill the earth

Noah and his sons had a missionary command to scatter throughout the earth

Gen 9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. so they started to do that then they ran into a problem

Babel - was resistant to the plan of God to scatter people

Gen 11:4  Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

Babel is the first manifestation of what keeps coming again and again and is opposed to the advance of the gospel and the coming of the kingdom of God which is the Empire spirit. Right thru the bible is where it is found.

So dominant  that they insisted that everyone speak the same language - which is what empires do

Daniel - spiritual conflict between human empire and human domination and the working out of the kingdom of God.

 

God brings judgment on the empire of Babel

He then makes another promise brings promise to Abraham

Gen 12:3 and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

The people of god go to Egypt and become slaves

the next promise like a dramatic demonstration of what was going to come

A promise is not always words - can be a drama :

rescued from slavery by the sacrifice of a lamb and an act of great power

the lamb was sacrificed and the people of Israel were saved and went through the red sea and enacted promise - a lamb and an act of great power going thru the OT talking about the things concerning Jesus' passover and acts of great power

and then the establishment of sacrifice the glory of God coming down in the Tabernacle we get the book of Leviticus which is  all about sacrifice

get to Leviticus stumble through what do you do with the fat around the kidneys

in the way the bible is developing it is very important

it is saying sacrifice must be perfect God is holy cant have access to his presence taking sin with you

Heb 9:22 Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin

it is very important and is referred to in the NT

establishment of the Tabernacle and then the temple

what that was doing was referring back to the original temple garden of Eden

 

Certain symbols within that Tabernacle

Curtain - only high priest could enter once a year

to remind them of the Garden of Eden - cherubim to stop them from coming in.

In Exodus 25:18-22, God gives instructions to Moses regarding the construction of the Ark of the Covenant, which was to be placed in the innermost part of the Tabernacle. On top of the Ark, there were to be two cherubim made of gold, facing each other with their wings spread out. The cherubim were to be made as part of the cover of the Ark, which was known as the "mercy seat." God said that He would meet with Moses there, between the two cherubim, to speak with him about His commands for the Israelites.

In Exodus 26:1, God instructs Moses to make the Tabernacle, which was to be the place where God would dwell among His people. The Tabernacle was to be covered with curtains, and on the curtains were to be woven images of cherubim.

 

 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the Tree of Life.

Read the details about the tabernacle - cherubim on the curtains

Cherubin in the Garden of Eden guarding the way to the Tree of Life

you can't come in

that is established the worship of God

 Then the promise to David

a specific promise

from your seed, a king will come who will rule the whole world forever

psalms came. They have a prophetic nature

Psalm  87: 3

Glorious things are said of you,

    City of God:^[a]

^{We need to ask ourselves how we fit in with God's plan rather than ask God what is your plan for us.}

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.  

The Scariest Passage in Scripture

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on March 26th 2023  by Colin D Cruz. For the audio & video please click here. To listen to the worship please click here.

The Scariest Passage in Scripture

Matthew 7:21-23 ²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

The is the scariest portion of the scripture. Isn’t it?

Mathew 7:24-27 - 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. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

We’ve all heard sermon on the mount. This is the greatest sermon preached by the greatest person. Towards end of this sermon, Jesus tells us about 2 things –

Matthew 7:21-23 and Mathew 7:24-27

1.   Matthew 7:21-23:

Matthew 7:21 - ²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

In this verse, we see “Lord, Lord”. The word “Lord” is said twice. The meaning of this is that the person using this has a deep intimate connection with the other person. The person saying to Jesus had a deep intimate connection with Jesus. But how did Jesus respond to this person? He responded saying not everyone who calls him “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven. Isn’t that scary? Only those who do the will of God enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 7:22-23 - ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Many may explain things which they did. Things like prophesying, performing miracles etc., but if they haven’t done the will of the Father, then Jesus would say that He never knew them and he would call them evildoers.

Matthew 7:20 - ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Jesus is saying that if you really want him to be the Lord of your life, then there must be some fruit. Anybody can say, “I Love Jesus, I follow Jesus”. That’s not enough. Jesus says that the proof of our faith in Him is our fruit.

In John 15, Jesus talks about obedience to His commands. He says that if we really love Jesus, we will obey and keep His commands.

2.   Matthew 7: 24-27: 

This is a parable of 2 men who have a few things in common, a few in contrast and a conclusion. Let us call them Rocky and Sandy.

Both the men heard the Word of God

Both built houses.

Both houses were tested

Both the houses looked the same. When we see some nice building, do we say, “Wow! What a great foundation!”?

Let us look at the foundation on which these men built their houses.

The first man, our Rocky –

Matthew 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. 

Rocky was called wise by Jesus. He heard the Word of God and put them into practice. He is like a house built on rock.

The depth of the foundation determines the height of the building. Digging is hard work. He kept digging till he hit the rock and that’s where he started building the foundation. 

The second man Sandy –

Matthew 7:26 - ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

Sandy was called foolish by Jesus. No effort is required to build a house in sand. He heard the Word of God but did not put it into practice.

We are all building something – our lives, marriage, families etc. What is our foundation? Without the foundational principles, it may not withstand.

Both the men faced the same storm.

Some people say that when you come to Jesus, all your problems will be gone. But what does the Bible say? 

John 16:33 - ³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

When we give our lives to Jesus, we will face storms in our lives. But what’s the difference? The difference is that Jesus is with us in those storms. He is with us in the same boat.

Storms are very important in our lives. Either we have just come out of one, entering one or very much going through one.

Storms reveal the foundation on which we’re being built. People may say that they’re facing storms because they came to Jesus. Others may say that even amid the storm, Jesus is with me and I will not waver.

Storms can be minor, or major or sometimes they are just consequences.

Just rain could be minor. But rain, wind, and floods all three together are major.

Some people mix up storms with consequences.

For example, suppose you went on a vacation, came back and found that everything inside the fridge is rotten because of no electricity.

If the electricity had gone for some valid reason, then that’s a storm. But if the electricity had gone because you didn’t pay the electricity bill, then that’s a consequence. 

Why do these storms occur?

1 Peter 1:6-7 - 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. 

Verse 6 says that there will be grief. But verse 7 says why we go through storms. During storms, our faith is tested. It depends on how we respond.

Storm is an opportunity to glorify God. During this, we dig deep into and reconcile.

During a financial crisis, do we stop ourselves from giving our tithes and offerings or be generous in our giving?

Every time we are in a storm or a hard situation, we must always think about how God wants us to respond. God wants us to become like His Son Jesus. We build our lives little by little with God’s Word.

People who obey God’s commands are like the person building his house on a rock. Storm came and it did not fall. People who don’t obey God’s commands are like the person building his house in the sand. Storm came but it fell with a great crash. 

John 13: 17 - ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

You will be blessed if you do what you hear.

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.