The waiting| Colin N

This message was preached by Colin Nicholes on November 12th, 2015 at the Regions Beyond annual gathering of the nations- 'the HUB 2015' in Dubai. 

Are you tired of waiting? What do you do when waiting? What is the result?

As a family of churches we have this amazing call of God upon us. We have had these prophecies- don’t think of a small vegetable patch but a global field. That’s why the name Regions Beyond. Do you feel that impact?

There is a call of God upon us. How will this happen? Reproduction- it is God’s desire for us to be fruitful. If we read the book of Genesis 1- it says multiply and fill the earth with His glory and people like him. Jesus had no small thing in mind in Matthew 28- go into all the world!

We’ve heard about prophecies of trees and fruit. Families and reproduction is also a biblical picture.

1 Samuel 1:1-8

This is Hannah’s story- dearly loved and yet barren. The most dangerous question your spouse could ask is “why do you love me?” God answers that question with “I love you because I love you”. When you have a baby, you hold it and love it even though it does not do a lot. You love it because it is yours- not because of what it did but who it is.

We are loved because we are loved. The grace of God! We are in Christ and nothing can make him love us less or more. We are his workmanship. We are being re calibrated to know that. 
We know this and yet it gets tested. Like Hannah who is loved but barren, God will ask you “Am I enough?” especially when things go wrong. All of us in leadership will have to answer this. It’s one of those things that we have to face and live.

Hannah had to come to terms with it that she was loved yet barren. And yet there was a longing in her heart to reproduce. There are these good works we have been called to. There are things God has put in our hearts. There is this yearning for fruitfulness.

You get provoked by the second wife- the building down the road, the other pastor’s success/ and you get agitated.

We are chosen for fruitfulness. Jesus who could do everything makes us wait sometimes.

1 Samuel 1:9- 11

Why the wait, the discouragement, when we have the plan perfectly in place? Because we can only reproduce who we are- and God cares who we reproduce. God wants to work in us before he works through us. Jesus said go out and bear fruit. Those who are fruitful he will prune so that we will be more fruitful.

Q. what is Hannah learning?

Who is bringing the fruit. We have many storms like this. It made her realize who gives the fruit. We have to learn from realizing on the natural to the supernatural.

“If only the leaders would see the gift in me, I will be fruitful”. Your leaders can’t make you fruitful. Methods can’t make you fruitful. God is bringing us to a place of desperation. Some of us are feeling God is looking for people who will look to him.

We all think we are strong but God loves the weak things just so that we know who brings the strength and power.

Hannah came to the place and she prays that she will give it back to God. What God gives us is not for us but for God. Before we understand fruitfulness we need to understand dying i.e. we are letting go- God is not about me but you.

We need to come to this place. We have dreams for things but we have a season of dying and giving it up. When we do this, we will have many more sons and daughters as an inheritance.

There is a call to hang on in the time of barrenness before fruitfulness. You will produce fruit if you don’t give up. It’s a biblical principle- you will reap what you sow.

1 Samuel 1:12-40

There is fruitfulness that we will unlock over the next few days.  The longing for a child with a childless couple is strong. This is the longing of God for us- to be fruitful. For those of us- to be fruitful, for those of us who have been barren- God is on our case working on us, getting us ready.

We are fortunate- we come from rich heritage. When Terry Virgo says I am releasing sons to start their own sphere; Steve Oliver is about releasing new leaders all the time.

We need to keep longing for this- give us children God. Don’t give up until we see what God has for us. Asking God to put his spirit in us to do what he wants to do.

Give yourself today- to seeking God to make us fruitful.      

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.

Finishing the race| Justin

This message was preached  Justin at Word of Grace Church on the November 15th, 2015.  To listen/download the audio please click here  

Q. How we can stay focused in this great calling that God has given us?

It’s said of Eagles that they fly very high and don’t fly in groups. And they can see a prey from 5kms. The wind, other birds, even the rain doesn’t affect the eagles. It is completely focused on its goal.

We become effective when we are selective. The world steps aside to let those pass who know where they are going, who are focused. Even a slight deviation can be disastrous.

In March 6, 1987- Eamonn Coghlan, the Irish record holder for 500 m race was running in Indianapolis in a qualifying heat. With 2.5 laps left, he tripped. He managed to get up and catch up with the others. Just as he was about to cross the finishing line, he came onto the inside and relaxed because there was no one nearby. But he did not see that there was someone running on the outside that overshot him and finished the race seconds before him. All his efforts were rendered useless because he lost sight of the finishing line.

In Hebrews 12:2 we are called to fix our eyes upon Jesus who is the author and finisher of our race. We all have goals in life. What was Paul’s goal? Philippians 3:10- I want to know Christ. This was his burning desire. He’s not saying this at the beginning of his life, but at the end. He was a great pioneer and at this stage. He encountered Jesus in a very dramatic way, but he still lives with the longing to know Christ.

When God touched Paul’s life on the road to Damascus, God talks about his purpose for Paul’s life. In Acts 9:15- he says to Ananias “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.” Paul’s goal in life is that for which God has taken hold of him at Damascus.

Philippians 3:12-14: Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus

 Q. How can we remain focused till we cross the finish line?

1. We need to have a clear perspective of the race in which we are involved: in verse 12, we see that Paul has not reached his goal. This is our starting point. In Philippi, there were those who felt like they have already arrived. But Paul says that it is not so. “Not that I have already attained.” Then he says, “or am already perfected”. Paul says he is still a work in progress. That is what we all are.

All of us who have met Jesus have begun that race. You and I are not called to settle down in our spiritual walk. We are called to be sojourners. There is a long way to go to attain the purpose for which God has called us.

Elijah after Mount Carmel when he was threatened by Jezebel says I’ve had enough, I give up. But the angel of the Lord says to him that he still has a long way to go.

In our Christian walk, we attempt to settle down because of various reasons. But we walk with the Lord. This is just a beginning and we are a work in progress.

2. To press on: In verse 14 Paul says that he wants to press on. The Greek word means persecute. The root word comes from ‘chasing’- As a hound chasing a fox relentlessly. That is the picture Paul has in mind when he talks about pressing on. There is urgency in taking hold of that for which God took hold of us. It’s very important that our goal is the same as God’s goal for us.

William Wilberforce when was discouraged because of his defeat in his fight against slavery, he opened his bible and a small piece of paper- a letter by John Wesley- fell out of it. It said, “unless the divine power has raised you up, I see not how you can win in your battle against that abominable practice of slavery. Unless God has raised you for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of man and the devil. But if God is for you, then who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? Be not weary of well doing. Go in the power of his might.” He later on succeeded in the abolition of slavery in England.

The Christian walk is not our decision to follow Christ. It is God’s plan in our lives- his calling and work in our life. We run the race because God asked us to run this race for him. Therefore we are not our own. He brought us with the precious blood of Christ. That’s foundational. That’s how we need to press on.

In order to press on to that glorious calling we need to do two things:
1. Forgetting what is behind: Past is a good friend but a bad roommate
Q. How do we forget things?
Paul says he refuses to live in the past. We cannot wipe out the past- the hurtful things that have happened. But we chose not to look back, not to remember. We choose to look forward.We need to forget both our past failures and our past achievements.

Paul had a past of failures. In Acts 7 he gave the approval of killing Stephen. Acts 8 he went all over the place persecuting the church. In Philippians 3 Paul says he was a great persecutor of the church and he wants to forget that. In 1 Timothy, he says I am the greatest of all sinners. He says I don’t want my past to be a hindrance in moving forward. Satan, the accuser wants to remind us of the past. But praise be to God as he has forgiven all the sins and the past is dealt with already. We need to choose not to look at the past, forgetting our failures

We also need to forget about our achievements. We like to live on how God worked in our life and our own achievements in life. Paul had a great heritage. He came from a good family background, but he says, what things were gain to me, I have counted them as loss for Christ. We have to forget those things and look forward in our race.

2. Straining toward what is ahead: Thomas Edison, in one experiment, he needed one thing, for which he searched the whole of Ceylon, Burma, China until he found that material he needed for the filament and his experiment became a success. We are called to strain towards the call for which God called us. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul gives the example of a boxer. Paul talks about the discipline and strict training that is involved in our Christian walk.

Q. What are some of these disciplines?

It is our personal quiet time, prayer life and fellowship with one another. How are things in your life? Are you struggling with them? Or are they completely neglected? These things help us grow in the Lord.

In a race, the winner is decided by a fraction of a second’s difference where one person pushes himself ahead by just that much. In our Christian walk, we are called to cross the finishing line.

Q. What is the motivation?

Paul says, I run towards the prize that is set before. The prize is not only for winners but for all those who finish the race. We need to be focused till we finish the race.

In 1968, the Olympics were held in Mexico City. The ceremonies were all over. The spectators were prepared to leave. When the public announcer asked them to remain in their seats they were surprised. John Stephen from Tanzania, covered in blood, was a marathon runner entered the stadium. He had fallen down halfway and hit his head on the pavement, was trampled on by the other runners. Then he got himself up and reached the stadium.

Next day the media asked him, why he did what he did even though there was no way of winning a prize? He said, my country did not send me 11000kms to start the race but to finish it. Phil 1: 6 Paul says, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”

That’s the calling of God in our lives. May the Lord help us, the one who is so faithful in calling us, will help us complete the race for which he has called you and me.


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.

A call to faithfulness| Sunith N

This message was preached  Sunith Nallala at Word of Grace Church on the November 8th, 2015.  One of our core values at Word of Grace is multiplying our own giftings as well as developing and releasing people in their gifting. Sunith is a young preacher in the making and this is his first time preaching.To listen/download the audio please click here  . To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

Let’s ask ourselves if we are faithful in our walk with God.

Q. What is faith?

We all know the chapter on faith- Hebrews 11. Faith is the substance of things we hope for. Ephesians 2:8- the grace of God is the source of salvation through faith. Faithfulness comes after faith. It is an act of faith. We can be faithful or unfaithful. Let’s look at the life of Joseph.

Genesis 37

Joseph is the son of Jacob and Rachel. His mother died when he was young. At the same time his brothers were jealous because he was the father’s favourite.

His older brother used to tend the flock in far away fields while Joseph carried reports for his father. This increased their anger. They wanted to kill him. He gets sold as a slave.

Gen 39:3-4

God blessed Joseph because he was faithful in his master’s household. When you are faithful, God gives you more. Now Joseph is unjustly put in prison.

In Gen 39:21 we see that Joseph is in charge of the prison. Then God used Joseph to rescue the whole of Egypt and his family from famine.

In Revelation 2:10 it says that if we remain faithful we will get the crown of life. We have to cling on to our faith in Jesus.

Psalm 37: 38 says- “The Lord loves the just and will not forsake the faithful ones.”

2 Thessalonians 3:3 reminds us that the Lord will strengthen and protect us from the evil one whether we are faithful or not.

No matter how tough your situation is, keep your faith in Jesus. He will get us through.

Be encouraged. We see different teams serving in church. Give yourself so that you can grow in faithfulness.

1 Cor 4:2 says that when we are entrusted with something, we should be faithful. We are serving God, not just one another. We need to be faithful in our work place as well. Sometimes we will face challenges but we need to be faithful. Be faithful in small and big. God will surely bless you.   

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.

How much is much?| Colin D

This message was preached  Colin D Cruz at Word of Grace Church on the November 1st, 2015.  To listen/download the audio please click here  . To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

What on earth am I doing here?

Is life a cycle of sleep, eat, drink? We need to step back and see the big picture.

Life can seem like a treadmill- running a lot and going nowhere. When God created man he said that it was very good. Then the devil came and tempted Adam and Eve and sin entered the world. Since then, everything is contaminated. We are all born with the sin nature.

Genesis 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.

After the flood, God said in Genesis 8:21- The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though[a] every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. 

We only have to read the newspaper to see that this is true- we read about wars, illnesses, riots, murders, etc. The world is in a mess.

Into this mess God sent his son. Gal 4:4 says, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law”. This was God’s plan. God sent Jesus and the rest is history. When Jesus left the earth he said that I am coming soon.

On this earth we have to now make disciples. For those who have put their faith in Jesus we will be with Him forever. Our future is secure. But what about now- this time on earth?

We gave 2 options- live it up or find out what purpose God has for us.

Remember Esther? She was sovereignly chosen to be in the King’s palace and later she became queen. The Jews’ lives were in danger. Only Esther could intervene but at the risk of her life. she had a choice to live in comfort or to take up the challenge.

In Esther 4:14 Mordecai says to Esther,  “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Mordecai provoked her to do good for her people.

We may not be in this position. We have education, money etc. for such a time as this so that we can see gospel advance. One day Jesus will come back and we don’t have guarantees about anything. At Word of Grace church, this is what we want to do. We want to continue what we do. As for Mordecai, God will provide for us. If not you, someone else will provide.

Mark 12: 41-43 says “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others”

From this passage we see three things:

1.      Jesus is watching the treasury box. Many rich threw in large amounts. Imagine if the ushers this morning did that. But that’s what Jesus was doing. The crowd came- many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and put in 2 copper coins.

2.      Jesus commented on and evaluated the giving. He said that the widow put in more than the rest. How can that be? Jesus said she gave everything but the rich gave what was extra.

3.      Jesus evaluates it with how much is left with you, not how much you give. Jesus loves a cheerful giver.

Q. What can motivate us to give?

We focus on what Jesus has done for us. In 2 Corinthians 8:9 Jesus gave so that you and I can be saved. That should motivate us. Jesus gives us amazing promises. In Mark 10: 28-29 he says that he will reward us when we give. 2 Corinthians 9:10-11- God wants to prosper you so you can be generous.      

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.

Where is Caroline? |Colin D'cruz

This message was preached  Colin D Cruz at Word of Grace Church on the October 25th, 2015.  To listen/download the audio please click here  . To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

Caroline was with us for a few years. A student of the Union Biblical Seminary- she was a dedicated Christian. She was struck with TB meningitis. She died last week.

Q. Where is she now?

1 Thessalonians 4:13

We don’t grieve like unbelievers. When a near one dies we wonder whether we will ever see them again. Paul is encouraging the people. We are sorrowful but we have hope. When Paul writes he does not do it to condemn tem but to encourage them. When Jesus told the disciples he was going to die, he told them not to be troubled.

So Paul tells the Thessalonians not to be ignorant about what is going to happen. One day we will all die.

Q. What is going to happen after we die?

Acts 7:57- Stephen just before dying calls out to Jesus and says, receive my spirit. And in verse 60 it says that he fell asleep. The Bible talks about a Christian’s death as sleep. 1 Corinthians 11:30; 1 Corinthians 15:6-

Our hope is this, one day when we die, we will come to live again. This is referring to our body. The Spirit is alive with Jesus in Heaven- our last breath on earth will be our first breath in heaven. Stephen commended his spirit to Jesus. Jesus said to the thief on the cross- this day you will be with me in paradise.

We are sad at Caroline’s death but she is in a much better place. For those who have not put their faith in Jesus are not referred to as “fallen asleep”. They will be judged. It is the saddest thing.

Q. How does this affect how we live? We evangelize and tell people about Jesus.

The Thessalonians were concerned that if they died before Jesus’ return, would they miss something? 1 Thessalonians 4:14-15- Paul was reassuring them. The dead in Christ will rise first. We all look forward to the second coming of Jesus.

In the Old Testament, the trumpet was used to gather people and move on. In the same way, the trumpet will sound. The dead will rise first and we will meet them in the air.

This is our hope and future. We are to encourage each other with these words. One day we will be with Jesus forever. In John 14:3- Jesus is preparing a mansion for us. This is the promise of Jesus. This is an amazing hope. When we died, our bodies are conferred to the grave. At Jesus’ second coming, our bodies will join Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15: 51-53- we will all be changed, i.e. glorified bodies.

This is our wonderful hope. Caroline’s body will be consigned to the grave but she’s with Jesus forever.

Q. How do we live?

1 Thessalonians 1:9- 10

This is a model for us.

1.      Our life needs to be transformed. We turn away from sin and wrong beliefs to serve the living and true God. We need to ask how we can make a difference to our neighbours and the poor.

2.      In verse 10, the mindset is that Jesus is coming soon- maybe even tonight. We are prepared and not ashamed to meet 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 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.

Share on google_plusone_shareShare on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailMore Sharing Services0