Miracles of Jesus Part 1

 This message was preached by Micahel Eaton at  Word of Grace Church. You can listen or download the audio message by clicking here.

THE MIRACLES OF JESUS

Matthew 14:22

The Christian life begins by putting our faith in Jesus and then gazing upon Him. Hebrews 12 talks about running the race fixing our eyes on Jesus.

The Bible says we feed on Him i.e. we take Him into our minds and hearts.

We see His origins- He comes from glory- the son of God. He is not ordinary. He is God’s replica- He is united with His divine nature. He took on flesh- He did not stop being God- He took within Himself the human nature and became a man. He was like us in every way- He ate, drank, was tired, sad, perplexed and hungry but He did not sin. In humanity He did not know about His second coming.

His decisions: He knew about the cross right from being a boy. He knew this. He decided to join John the Baptist. We would launch ourselves with a big bang but not Jesus. He joined John because he was the one sent by God to prepare the way.

He started His ministry with 6 weeks of prayer. He lived the life we have lived and died what we should have died- He has done it all for us. He is coming back for us. When you see Him, you see His salvation. When you see Him you see a short time. You don’t have to live long to do something for God. What did He do? He preached a lot- sometimes to one. We like to preach to thousands. He answered and told them the truth of God.

He spent a lot of time- having meals with people. He even invited Himself- E.g. Zacheus, Nicodemus. He did a lot of miracles but John only recorded some. The first miracle, he turned water into wine, banished sickness from a town (when He healed Peter’s mother in law), raises the boy from the dead- all done by faith. At the depth of His soul, He was divine- had perfect faith. He had the spirit without measure which we don’t have.

Q. What are the miracles there for and what do you do with it? 

It is not for us to copy necessarily. People love miracles, especially healing miracles. People don’t go to walk on water, or find a coin in the fish’s mouth, or control the natural elements.

He is the only one who raised Himself up from the dead. He laid it down and took it up.

1.       They are signs of Messiah-ship: when the saviour came he would show that He was the creator and Lord- heal, control nature. The father has given everything in Jesus’ hands. You can’t get to God without Jesus.

The world is interested in the super-natural. Not many atheists- the world wanders into false gods not so much into atheism. When you reject the God of the Bible you get false gods.

Everyone has a sense of God. We have a conscience but it can lead to idolatry and superstition. The only way to contact God is through Jesus- the way, the truth and the life. The Father gets to you through Jesus.

When John the Baptist was imprisoned, he fell into doubt. Jesus sent a message that the blind see, the poor have good news preached to them. He is the only one who has a message for the poor.

Only the Christian faith says you are saved by doing nothing- Romans 4:5. Therefore, we need to be poor in spirit to be saved. If you have something, you are in trouble. There is only one thing you can do- identify with the poor- come empty.

If you try to save yourself, you block your salvation. Christ takes you up- Jesus takes you- you have nothing. Faith is putting out your empty hand. Miracles are proof of sonship.

2.       Flashes of glory: You see this in the raising of Lazarus. People were upset that He let him die. Jesus told them that He is the resurrection and the life. It’s a flash of the last, now. Every miracle is a flash of that. In the last day everyone will be raised. Every Christian will be healed. In heaven, you will not have faith or hope because you will only have love. Love will go on forever. The baptism of the spirit is a little bit of heaven now. We are people living in the future because we have a little of the future glory now.

In the new heaven and earth everyone will be able to walk on water. Everything Jesus could do, you will do- Philippians 3:20. The whole Christian life is a little flash of glory- the first fruits of what is to come.

3.       Every miracle is a proof of what He could do, even when He doesn’t: Don’t live on miracles- don’t be disappointed when it does not happen. We have limited faith. Jesus fed 5000, walked on water and then they have no bread and they are worried!! Jesus rebuked them. We don’t need to be afraid. He can always do something but He doesn’t necessarily do it. Dan 3:17-18 “Our God is able… but even if He doesn’t, we will not bow down…” This should be our outlook to miracles.

He is able and He loves us, but He is also sovereign- we trust Him anyway.

Jesus can deal with all kinds of problems of hearing- physical and spiritual. He, who has ears, let him hear.    

  

4.       Every miracle is a kind of parable: it contains a special (specific) lesson. There are 35 miracle stories in the 4 gospels.  If you read them, they are pointing to His power directly. John7-9- everybody is confused. People are wondering who He is. The Pharisees are against Him, the common man thinks He is the savior. In John 8 He stands up and says ‘I am the light ‘. In the Greek, ‘I and I only’. Only He can deal with people’s confusion. He is not educated or of political influence- He is only a carpenter. His biological father is a carpenter.

I am the light of the world- God humbles human pride. He takes a carpenter’s son. God does not save the world in a way that makes anyone proud. You cannot save yourself. God will not allow anyone to boast that they could save themselves- where a human can take glory.

In the eyes of man He was ordinary-peasant- salvation has a humbling side to it.

John 9 He takes a blind man and given him his sight. The miracle is a picture of what He just said and heals a blind man. He was blind not because of sin, he was born blind. This is so that they would see the glory of God.

Jesus is teaching that everybody is born blind about God, ourselves, our ideas of spirituality. We don’t even know ourselves. I am the only one who can get rid of your confusion and help you understand. Only Jesus can change the world- not a professor, Socrates, Plato or Aristotle. Jesus shall reign and the Kingdom of God shall stretch from shore to shore.

Jesus is in charge of the whole world and He does this for the sake of the Gospel and His church. The Romans left behind their roads, the Greek their language, the English their language- we can preach to the whole world.

So when you read your Bible, there is a story there- paralyzed, blind, deaf, fear, storms. He does these things not just physically but spiritually as well. As you received Jesus, live in Him, joined to Him, trusting in Him- Col 2:9. Be strong in the grace. Contact Jesus the first thing in the morning. 

Word of Grace Church is a spirit filled (charismatic), evangelical  ( Born- again) English speaking church that preaches from the Bible as God's inspired Word of 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. 

Vision 2013 - New Wine skins Part 2

 This message was preached by Colin D' Cruz at Word of Grace Church on the 27th of Jan 2013. You can listen / download the audio file by clicking here.

 Last week we looked at Hab 2:14 where God’s ultimate purpose and plan is the whole earth be covered with His glory as the waters cover the sea.

God’s plan right from Genesis is to fill the earth with His glory. We see God’s glory in creation as well. Redeemed men are bearers of God’s glory as well and God wants to fill the earth with people He has redeemed so that Hid glory will fill the earth.

The new wine skin for this to happen is the start of many, many, house gatherings that are reaching out to their communities.

In U.P 50,000 people in the villages have come to know Jesus through this method. This is happening in the hardest of places viz. Bihar, M. P both which were formally known as the graveyard of the missionaries.

The gospel is the only hope for the nations. Last week we gave a call and 25 responded to start house groups.

How will God use us, weak vessels to spread His glory?

Ezk 47

Ezekiel was a trainee priest who lived during a very tragic period in Israel’s history during the reign of King Josiah. They had lost all the scrolls. This went on for generations. All they had was what the prophets taught them. Then one day on 622 B C they found the scrolls. This is when Ezekiel is born on the cusp of the rise of one power and the fall of another.

Ezekiel’s time saw the Assyrian empire crumbling and the Egyptian and Babylon jostling for power.

Israel was split into North ( the 11 tribes) and South ( Judah). North Israel was in captivity.

Josiah removed idolatry in Israel. The Bible speaks over and over again against Idolatry. Josiah dies in battle and Judah goes into captivity. Ezekiel was about 25 when he was taken in to captivity. He was trained to be a priest but he becomes a prophet.

Ezekiel was shocked that God revealed himself to him in an ungodly nation  i. e Babylon. God was at work in the most unlikely places. This is pre picture of John 14:4 . The Samaritan woman though God could only speak to her in a particular place. Ezekiel’s experience is a shadow of what is to come where God could be encountered and worshiped anywhere.

God gave Ezekiel revelation and vision of what was happening in Jerusalem. God gives him hope of a new thing happening. The book of Ezekiel has more visions than any other Old Testament book.

He has a vision of a new city and a new temple. An angel was showing him around. At one of the side gates there was a trickle of water. The angel takes him 450 meters away from the gate and it gets ankle deep, then knee deep and then waist deep and the too deep.

The irony is the further away they went from the temple the river got deeper and wider. Then the angel took Ezekiel to the banks of the river where there were fruit bearing trees and then the river reaches the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea as the name suggests does not support any life. But in this vision the river flows into the Dead Sea and the water begins to get fresh and there is life.

How does this story fit in with the whole story of the Word of God.

The Temple –  a place of worship where God and man meet. The first temple was in the Garden of Eden. It’s a source of blessing. The people are blessed there s that they can be a blessing o others. In Israel the temples ha plants and fruits ( Gen 2:8) and animals engraved on the pillars because it reminded them of Eden.

Gen 2: 10  A river watering the garden flowed out of Eden and split into 4. Along that garden are trees. God placed Adam and Eve there and the plan was that the entire earth would be blessed. Today’s temple is the church. Eph 2:22 – you are the temple.

We think that God’s blessing was in the temple. But in the temple the water was only a trickle but as you went further away it got deeper. In the same way as we go further into the mission field, barren situations God’s power and presence increases.

Evangelical and Charismatic churches stress being in God’s presence. That’s good but not enough. Some people just go from one meeting to another, one conference to another seeking blessing and it can be like the Dead Sea where there is resistance to anything fresh.

John 7:37 One the last day of the feast they would have large water jars. Jesus says “ If anyone is thirsty… “

Ezekiel had a vision of a river. In was symbolic of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and streams of living water flowing out of us.

As we believe in Jesus – streams of living water will flow out of us and into dead situations to bring life.

Jesus promised us his presence in the context of going. Matt 28:18-20 “… I will be  with you always… “

Acts 1:8  a promise to receive the Holy Spirit so that we will be witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Pentecost – was a movement – it was a declaration that every language group would receive the gospel.

Rev 22:1 “ River of water of life” Revelation is where the curtain is pulled back and we see the fulfillment of Genesis, John and Ezekiel coming to pass.

Genesis and Revelation- the Tree of Life is mentioned. How does this apply to us?

You are the river of God- for you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Take the river of God to a thirsty and dying nation. God’s words will come as we go into different situations. So this year as we start the 30 house gatherings remember his grace is sufficient – his presence is with you.

Mak 16: 19-20 This is God’s promise to us

Are you ready to take that step of faith Jesus is with us as we go and in the going? AS we go His presence will increase. As we make disciples and take steps of faith His presence will increase. 

Vision 2013 - New wineskins

Part 1

 This message was preached by Colin D Cruz at Word of Grace Church on the 20th of Jan 2013 . You can listen or download  to the  audio by clicking here

Acts 15:35 Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch and they along with many others taught the Word of God. We often skip the bit that says “others”. This is my prayer for Word of Grace that many will begin to teach and preach the Word of God.

Great things happened in 2012. Some of the highlights were :

The 10 Year Celebration.

We had 450 visitors at word of Grace last year of which 50 have joined us. 

13 Graduated from IDT. Acts 11:36. Teaching the Word of God systematically is very important.

We had several baptisms last year and we look forward to many more this year

Gift Day – We got a little over 5 lakhs which was a huge target for a church of our size to achieve.

At Christmas we distributed 700kgs of food grain to the poor.

Serving Teams are growing and new people like Sunny, Jeevan and Austin are leading them.

The Worship Team has seen new additions in Rakhi, Austin and Jerome and we are looking to add more in the future.

There has been visible spiritual growth in the lives of many people.

With 2013 before us what can we expect?

God will do even greater things in our lives individually and corporately. Habbakuk 1:5 “Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your day that you would not believe even if you were told.” I believe God will do that and all we need to do is believe.

We need to find out what is God’s purpose and we need to fit in.

Hab 2:14 “ For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, even as the waters cover the sea” God’s desire from eternity past to eternity present is to fill the earth with His glory.

Throughout  the Old Testament God’s appeared in glory to the Israelistes. Acts 7:2, Ex 33:18. God the father displayed His glory .

In Heb2, Jn1:14 we see the Son displays God’s glory. Jn16:13-14 The Holy Spirit brings glory to the Son.

Creation declares the glory of god ( Ps 19:1), Is 6:3 says the whole earth is full of His glory.

What about man ? God’s desire is that we ( 1Cor 10:31) too will display the glory of God. In anything we do we can demonstrates the glory of God.

2 Thes.  2:14 God tells us how man displays the glory of God. When someone believes in Jesus an sis a new creation we share in God’s glory. A  Christ follower is a bearer of God’s glory. Jesus is the light of the world and then he tell us : you are the light of the world. All mankind are created in God’s image but its only when we are saved do we demonstrate the glory of God on earth as well.

How will the earth be filled with the glory of God? As more people bear the glory of God. Therefore we need to put all our energies into taking people who only bare the image of God to becoming his glory bearers as well.

Mk16:15  There are  4 Calls

1.       Call from above – Matt 28:18-20. We are told to go into all the earth.

2.       Call from below – Luke 16:19 Hell is a real place of real agony. This is not a fairy tale because the story teller is Jesus himself. The rich man is being tormented and wants to warn his family.

3.       Call from within us. 1 Cor 9:16 I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach.

2 Cor 5:14 Christ’s love compels us . Do we have the love to Jesus in our heart – the  you can’t sit still while people are perishing.

4.       Call from beyond. Acts 16:9 There are many groups of people who are calling who need the gospel to be shared with them.

What will we do?

All over the world God is using new wine skins – they are house groups. We start up little groups everywhere.

Jn 4:39-40 the Samaritan woman had no qualifications. She only had her story. God uses weak people . The whole town gets impacted because of one person’s story.

Mk5 the demonized man is set free by Jesus and the whole region gets to know about it.

At Word of Grace we can start 30 groups this year. All it requires is for you to say God use me . From our city it will go beyond.

What will it take?

1.       God wants our availability not our ability.

2.       Give your time- pray and meet people. You can meet them anywhere- Coffee shops, super markets, at your home etc.

3.       How many people? For starters you and another person is all you need to begin.

4.       What do you do? Share your story and what Jesus has done for you. The power of these groups is that from one you start the next and so on.

5.       What do you teach? Stories from the Bible. They are full of truth and power.

Next Sunday I will share part 2 of this vision for 2013.

Well begun is only half...

This message by Terry Virgo was preached at TOAM Bangalore 2012. This is a summary of the message.

2Chronicles 1:1

David had an amazing life. He fulfilled the purpose of God in his generation. And he was not on his own program or ambition but served God’s purpose in his life time. God has a purpose for each generation – that should be our ambition.

David did – he finished his course. But God’s purposes are not just wrapped up in one person’s life but the baton has to be passed on to the next generation. David passed on to Solomon.

David had several sons who may have felt that they were more qualified. Solomon is Bathsheba’s son – who probably should not have been even born. David was captivated by lust, he committed adultery and then to cover his sins he commits murder. Her husband was one of David’s mighty men, one of the 30 and David plots his murder.

So the background to Solomon’s history ought to disqualify him – he was born in lust and sin. BUT god chose him.

David says to Solomon ( 1 Cro. 28:10) “ The Lord has chosen you . Who God chooses is always a mystery. He does not choose the most qualified or the best scholars. He breaks the rule and chooses someone whose background is outrageous.

1Corinthians. Tells us that God chooses the foolish, weak , despised to shame the strong.He wants us to know this. He said to Peter, James , John , Andrew that they did not choose Him but He chose them. He chose them before the foundations of the world . Maybe you were not wanted, an unplanned pregnancy etc. Parents reject children saying terrible things. Solomon could have been like that. But David says “ The Lord  has chosen you” Do you consider this? God has called you “.. to build a house for the Lord”. In the N.T it is the church. AS David’s life is fading this is his charge to Solomon.

So Solomon establishes himself as King and sits on the throne. 1King 2::46. How did he establish himself? There were other who wanted the throne viz.  Adonijah– even before David died he plotted to take over. Shemeia  too. Solomon had them killed – he seems ruthless. He put other claims to death so that God’s purposes would be established. God has chosen you so you better put  other things to death – things that rival the place of God in your life. You have one life and if God has chosen you , you want to be careful how you live. He has created you for a purpose.

Eph 2:10  This gives your life immense value. He as his eye on you. So put to death anything that wants to reign in your life . Rom 8. Col 3 You have died and have been raised to life.

Jesus said to be ruthless with sin. If we allow it to grow it will dominate our secret world. By the Holy Spirit power you can put to death. Solomon establishes himself.

Jesus said to men who wanted to follow him, “follow me” and he told them “ let the dead bury the dead” God maybe calling you and there is opposition from your family. You have to be ruthless. Heb12 Put aside everything that hinders.

2Chro2:1

Solomon decided to build a house to the name of the Lord.

The NASB translation says “decided”, (ESV) supposed, KJV – “determined”, NIV “gave orders”.

The Hebrew word is “he said” which means he said to himself. He made a choice, and then did it. It’s a big decision he made. Making choices is how you build the Christian life because you often come to a fork in the road.

Giving ourselves to God is somewhat alien these days. Today people are less decisive. Even in marriage – people don’t marry, they just move in because they don’t want to decide or commit. They want to keep their options open. Solomon did not keep his options open. He decided to do it.

The bible is full of people who had a vision. Abraham lived in Ur and then God shows him a bigger vision and he is captivated by it.

Some of you have done that because you were captivated by a bigger vision i.e the house of God.

2 Chro3:1

Solomon begins to build the house of God. This is another step. It’s great to have a vision but  you have to have move on. Solomon begins to build . Verse 2 gives you a date i.e 2^nd day of the 2^nd month of the 4^th year. Verse 3 – He laid the foundations and the measurements are given.

When you begin to build dates come along. Dreams have no dates. When you move beyond dreams you have dates. On the back of dates are measurements. When you start building you have to do the boring stuff – but the dream fuels you. If you don’t move into details nothing will happen.

Nehemiah heard Jerusalem was in ruined with the gates ruined. Zion was in shambles, no longer the joy of the whole earth. Nehemiah mourns this, In Neh 2 he emerges like a bull – unstoppable. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. He did not form a committee or opinion poll – he decided to rebuild.

Bible and church history turns on men and women like this – they have a vision and cat on it. Nehemiah had not told anyone yet as he surveyed the place. Then he begins to build. Then the trouble starts. That the difference between a dreamer and a builder. When you build you get into a battle, opposition begins. Nehemiah was not a famous soldier but he realized that not only do you need a trowel but you need a sword as well. He had to commit himself to the measurements. We need builders who are committed. When you commit, things start to go wrong, but you have to press through.

At first they mocked him – it seems like careless comments – but they are vicious attacks. The weapons of mockery are very powerful because it brings shame on us.

Then they question his motives – Nehemiah’s heart broke for Zion but they used the cheap weapon and sometime people will question our motives. Some of us lived with for decades. It is a powerful and painful weapon.

“Should such a man as I?” – what did he mean> He meant he had been called. That’s what holds you i.e whether you are in or out – God has called you. You come through disappointments.

Some of his friends try to slow him down – there is disloyalty in the ranks. But he kept on building. Solomon kept building.

You so need to build your own life up in the most holy faith. You need to learn your Bible , not to impress God ( Jesus had already done that ) . When we really care, we start learning. Are you building up your prayer life – in order to release the power ? It  is easy to give up on prayer. So we need to teach ourselves how to engage with the Spirit.

Ed Cole Some think maturity comes with age. No, only growing  old comes with age. Maturity come s with taking responsibility”

2Chro5:1 Thus the work is finished. He completed what he set himself to do. Many start but they don’t finish. Be careful – lets finish what we start. What have you started? Many people’s tool sheds and garages are full of unfinished projects. From those of us who go into the ministry 40 years ago, only 10 % are left!

Reasons why people don’t finish

Discouragement, battle of faith, distracted like Demas , Satan’s attacks, defiled conscience ( 1Tim1:19) the Titanic had several warnings about the iceberg and the Captain ignored the warnings because he wanted  the Atlantic Crossing Record to be his. Some people ignore their consciences and shipwreck their faith.

God wants us to keep running and finish what he wants us to do.

Solomon finished building the temple but Solomon did not finish his life well. He married many foreign women.

But there is one greater than Solmon who said “ I will build my church “ He had Judas, Simon Peter on his team. On the cross he cried out “ It is finished”. He knew that was his task – this is my meat to do the will of him who sent me – to finish”

John 17 Father I have glorified you.

What has God called you to, do you have a vision? Let’s finish well.

Word of Grace Church is a spirit filled (charismatic), evangelical  ( Born- again) English speaking church that preaches from the Bible as God's inspired Word of 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. 

THE OTHER SIDE OF EXPANDING THE FRONTIERS

 This is a summary of a message preached by Stanley Mehta  at TOAM 2012 Bangalore.

To expand the frontiers there needs to be a change in our minds. It’s not business as usual. God does not change – we need to change. We need to put on a new set of boundaries for change.

Our god is interested about the other side. We are concerned about our church, our community etc. God is interested about the other side.

Mark 4:35-37

We need to move where God wants us to move.

The disciples are on the west side of Galilee where they have had success in the ministry. The ‘other side” i.e  Gerasenes.– a place where 7 evil Canaanite nations were once there . Therefore the Jews did not want to go but Jesus has a concern for those on the other side.

Jesus cared for us and he left heaven to come to us.

1     Jesus had a concern for those on the other side viz other world – Jon 3:16

Other town - Mk 1:35-38, other sheep – John 10:16, other side, Mk 4:1034

After the conference we will begin to connect with the other side.

2     But there is an enemy that will try and prevent us. Mk 4:37 A storm arose. The disciples were not happy . Whenever we begin missions there is opposition that wants us to stay where we are and prevent us from going into mission. Anti conversion Bill are passed, ungodly management of Christian organizations, health, circumstances etc. There are external storms and some internal storms. We have many excuses why we should not go to the other side.

3.     What was on the other side? Chapter 5 A man is afflicted with a legion of demons (12,000) He was in bondage to sin and Satan controlled him by wrong desires and an unclean spirit. He was demonized, violent, enslaved and helpless. Not only that, this community don’t want Jesus. This is not a glamorous place. Jesus heals him and the man wants to join Jesus but says “No”. We want to stay in the comfort zone. We would want to take this man and disciple him. But Jesus tells him to stay. What does he have? Only his testimony. Later when Jesus returned to that town people came from all over and Jesus feeds the 4000.How did this happen? One man’s testimony did it. If you are the only Christian in your company God can use you there.

The disciples were learning something – 12 baskets, 7 baskets symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel and 7 Canaanite nations. He is the Lord of the Jews and the Gentiles.

No matter how big the problem you can do it when God is with you. You may not see the fruit immediately. Here is a story of how one man and women were willing to go to the other side , the storms they had to face and the fruit that was borne. ( Bloggers Note:It is a little long reading but don't let that stop you- allow it to stir faith in your heart for your situation)

 Here is a story of a missionary couple 

David and Svea Flood

In 1921, a missionary couple named David and Svea Flood went with their two-year-old son David, from Sweden to the heart of Africa—to what was then called the Belgian Congo.

This was a huge step of faith. At the remote village of N’dolera they were rebuffed by the chief, who would not let them enter his village for fear of alienating the local gods. The two couples opted to go half a mile up the slope and build their own mud huts.

They prayed for a spiritual breakthrough, but there was none. Their only contact with the villagers was a young boy, who was allowed to sell them chickens and eggs twice a week. Svea Flood — a tiny woman decided that if this was the only African she could talk to, she would try to lead the boy to Jesus. And in fact, after many weeks of loving and witnessing to him, he trusted Christ as his Savior.

Meanwhile, malaria continued to strike one member of the little band after another. Then, of all things, Svea found herself pregnant in the middle of the primitive wilderness. When the time came for her to give birth (1923), the village chief softened enough to allow a midwife to help her. A little girl was born, whom they named Aina (A-ee-nah).

The delivery, however, was exhausting, and Svea Flood was already weak from bouts of malaria. The birth process was a heavy blow to her stamina. After seventeen desperate days of prayer and struggle, she died.

Inside David Flood, something snapped in that moment. His heart full of bitterness, he dug a crude grave, buried his twenty-seven-year-old wife and took his children back down the mountain to the mission station. Giving his newborn daughter to the Ericksons, he said, “I’m going back to Sweden. I’ve lost my wife, and I can’t take care of this baby. God has ruined my life.” With two year old David, he headed for the coast, rejecting not only his calling, but God himself.

Within eight months both the Ericksons were stricken with a mysterious illness and died within days of each other. The nine month old baby Aina was given to an American missionary couple named Berg, who adjusted her Swedish name to “Aggie” and eventually brought her back to the United States at age three.

 And that is how Aggie grew up in South Dakota. As a young woman, she attended North Central Bible college in Minneapolis. There she met and married a young preacher named Dewey Hurst.

Years passed. The Hursts enjoyed a fruitful ministry. Aggie gave birth first to a daughter, then a son. In time her husband became president of a Christian college in the Seattle area, and Aggie was intrigued to find so much Scandinavian heritage there.

One day around 1963, a Swedish religious magazine appeared in her mailbox. She had no idea who sent it, and of course she couldn’t read the words. But as she turned the pages, all of a sudden a photo stopped her cold. There in a primitive setting in the heart of Africa was a grave with a white cross and on the cross was her mother’s name, SVEA FLOOD.

Aggie jumped in her car and drove straight to a college faculty member who, she knew, could translate the article. “What does this say?” she asked.

The instructor translated the story:

It tells about missionaries who went to N’dolera in the heart of the Belgian Congo in 1921… the birth of a white baby girl… the death of the young missionary mother… the one little African boy who had been led to Christ… and how, after the all whites had left, the little African boy grew up and persuaded the chief to let him build a school in the village.

The article told how that gradually the now grown up boy won all his students to Christ… the children led their parents to Christ… even the chief had become a Christian. Today (1963) there were six hundred Christian believers in that one village.

Because of the willingness of David and Svea Flood to answer God’s call to Africa, because they endured so much but were still faithful to witness and lead one little boy to trust Jesus, God had saved six hundred people. And the little boy, as a grown man, became head of the Pentacostal Church and leader of 110,000 Christians in Zaire (formerly the Belgian Congo).

At the time Svea Flood died, it appeared, to human reason, that God had led the young couple to Africa, only to desert them in their time of deepest need. It would be forty years before God’s amazing grace and His real plan for the village of N’dolera would be known.

For Rev. Dewey and Aggie Hurst’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, the college presented them with the gift of a vacation to Sweden. There Aggie met her biological father. An old man now, David Flood had remarried, fathered four more children, and generally dissipated his life with alcohol. He had recently suffered a stroke. Still bitter, he had one rule in his family: “Never mention the name of God because God took everything from me.”

After an emotional reunion with her half brothers and half sister, Aggie brought up the subject of seeing her father. The others hesitated. “You can talk to him,” they replied, “even though he’s very ill now. But you need to know that whenever he hears the name of God, he flies into a rage.”

Aggie could not be deterred. She walked into the squalid apartment, with liquor bottles everywhere, and approached the seventy-three-year-old man lying in a rumpled bed.

“Papa?” she said tentatively.

He turned and began to cry. “Aina,” he said, “I never meant to give you away.”

“It’s all right Papa,” she replied, taking him gently in her arms. “God took care of me.”

The man instantly stiffened. The tears stopped.

 “God forgot all of us. Our lives have been like this because of Him.” He turned his face back to the wall.

 Aggie stroked his face and then continued, undaunted.

 “Papa, I’ve got a little story to tell you, and it’s a true one.

 You didn’t go to Africa in vain. Mama didn’t die in vain.

The little boy you both won to the Lord grew up to win that whole village to Jesus Christ. The one seed you planted just kept growing and growing. Today (about 1964) there are six hundred African people serving the Lord because you and Momma were faithful to the call of God on your life.”

“Papa, Jesus loves you. He has never hated you.”

The old man turned back to look into his daughter’s eyes. His body relaxed. He began to talk. And by the end of the afternoon, he had come back to the God he had resented for so many decades.

Over the next few days, father and daughter enjoyed warm moments together. Aggie and her husband soon had to return to America—and within a few weeks, David Flood had gone into eternity.

A few years later, the Hursts were attending a high-level evangelism conference in London, England, where a report was given from the nation of Zaire (the former Belgian Congo). The superintendent of the national church, representing some 110,000 baptized believers, spoke eloquently of the gospel’s spread in his nation. Aggie could not help going up afterward to ask him if he had ever heard of David and Svea Flood. “I am their daughter.”

The man began to weep. “Yes, madam,” the man replied in French, his words then being translated into English.

“It was Svea Flood who led me to Jesus Christ. I was the boy who brought food to your parents before you were born. In fact, to this day your mother’s grave and her memory are honored by all of us.”

He embraced her in a long, sobbing hug. Then he continued, “You must come to Africa to see, because your mother is the most famous person in our history.”

In time that is exactly what Aggie Hurst and her husband did. They were welcomed by cheering throngs of villagers. She even met the man who so many years before, when she was less than a month old, had been hired by her father to carry her down the mountain in a soft bark hammock.

The most dramatic moment, of course, was when the pastor escorted Aggie to see her mother’s grave, marked with a white cross, for herself. She knelt in the soil of Africa, the place of her birth, to pray and give thanks. Later that day, in the church service, the pastor read from John 12:24:

“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

He then followed with Psalm 126:5: “They who sow in tears shall reap in joy.”

An excerpt from Aggie Hurst, Aggie: The Inspiring Story of A Girl Without A Country [Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1986].) You can read a fulleraccount by clicking here

Some of us claim the promises without fulfilling the conditions. God is with us as we go. Maybe its another part of your town, or another town, city or even country. Would you be willing to go?

God has a concern for the other side.

Why the Shepherds?

 This message  was preached by Colin D Cruz at Word of Grace Church on the 9th of Dec 2012. This is a summary of the message. You can download or hear the audio message by clicking here.

Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. A miraculous birth to a virgin – “ An infinite God becomes an infant” Charles Spurgeon.

 TEXT :Luke 2:1-8

Verse1 During the time of Jesus birth the Jews were under Roman occupation.  Roma was a super nation that had conquered many nations. Ceaser Augustus Octavian was ruling. Rome had built an excellent road system so that their army could reach any corner of the empire in a few days.

For hundreds of years prophets in Israel had prophesied about the Messiah, the anointed one who would rule Israel and who would deliver them. Genesis 49:10 “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. “Jacob blesses his son and he and prophecies about the Messiah in verse 10. This is a big promise not just for Israel but the nations of the world. The prophets all spoke about the Messiah. 

The revelation was progressive.

Micah 5:2“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans  of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

 Micah tells us more about where the messiah would be born. We get another clue here – that he would be born in Bethlehem.

2Sam 7:16 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me[a]; your throne will be established forever.’”your house will \endure forever – throne  established forever. We know he comes from the tribe of Judah, born in Bethlehem and from David’s lineage.

Israel was under bondage for many years. The hearts cry of the Israelite was for deliverance.

Luke 2:1 Israel is under Roman rule. A few months earlier an angel appeared to Mary in a little town called Nazareth. But for the prophecy to be fulfilled the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem. So God allows the rulers to ask for a census to be taken and each one had to go back to their home towns to register. That’s how Joseph and Mary move to Bethlehem.

What can we learn from this?

We see a Sovereign God at work orchestrating all for history to fulfill his story. God is in control and he controls the hearts of Kings as well.

Now there is no room in the inn. Even that was a part of God’s plan.

Verse 4-“ the town of David” Joseph belonged to the line of David.

Verse7 – The creator of the world was born out of public gaze and was born in a stable. Can you imagine the Lord of the universe humbled himself to be cradled in an animal feeding trough? Phil 2 tells us what the Messiah was like.

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

Inn – in those days there were no fancy restaurants or hotels. Inns were probably a spare room that a family would rent out to travelers. Because of the census the town was overflowing with people and there were no more rooms. The Inn keeper probably allowed them to camp in his courtyard near the stables.

Imagine the scene today when famous people are expecting a baby there is so much fanfare and glitz around the event! People speculate and bet on the date of the birth f the child, the sex of the child etc. 

But when the king of kings was born it was a low profile thing. What did God do?

He did not tell the High priest or the Senhadiran, or the rich and famous,  Caesar Augustus. God chose a very different lot of people to share this news with – the Shepherds. They were usually out in the fields – they did not have the time to attend the synagogue regularly. They were considered as vagabonds, a thieving community, and liars not to be trusted. They were the social outcasts. But God chose to them to be the first recipients of the good news.

2 What do we learn from this? God is not looking for the who’s who, the high and mighty ! 1Cor 1:26-27.   Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. This is the criteria that God uses to choose people (there are a few exceptions). God chooses the nobodies and the ordinary people of this world. Nobody gets chosen because he is intelligent, good looking or brilliant but is the grace and mercy of God that you and I are chosen. Many religions tell you to attain knowledge or purity to be accepted by God. But Jesus chooses the nobodies so that He gets the glory!

3 . Verse 8 The Shepherds were in the field and an angel comes to them. We picture angels as cute little creatures but actually they are big fearsome and awesome creatures. They always had to tell people not to be afraid of them. And it was angels such as these that announced the birth of Jesus.

Usually one or two angles would be sent to the earth to do God’s bidding. But when it came to announcing the birth of Jesus, we are told that an entire host of angels filled the skies and sang. There was an angelic choir. It must have sounded heavenly! They put on such a show for these ordinary Shepherds. The Shepherds had such a supernatural encounter that they believed the message and went looking for this baby.  Today do you believe the message?

Verse 16 They hurried off! I wonder what time of the night it was. Verse 16 again mentions that he was “lying in a manger”. This is the third mention. After the shepherds worshiped Jesus, they went and shared the good news.

What do we learn from this? This good news is to be shared. It is too good to be kept. This is the good news. God became a man to save the human race from sin. He brings peace and it comes when we acknowledge we are sinners and put our faith in Him.

They spread the word. Today I want to challenge you to spread the word like the Shepherds. There is a dying world out there. Good news is not good news if it is bottled up. Will you be like the Shepherds? We need to make this a life style. We need to see people are walking in their way to hell.

The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God. If we spend time praising God, the evangelistic fervor in our hearts will not die.

Jesus came to seek and save the lost!

Let this Christmas be different – lets gossip the gospel! Look for opportunities. I want to remind you of the couple in Hong Kong. Every year they lead 40 people to the Lord and they planted 5 churches. When they went to China to a city of 20 million people! They kept sharing the gospel and in 10 years 2 million people were baptized. It’s the same God. If He can do it in China, he can do it here. We just need to do what the Shepherds did – glorify God and share the good news!