This is a repost, originally published on September 9, 2017

This week we revisit Pastor Priji’s conversation with Pastor Ankit Sajwan about knowing God as the gracious, loving Father Who needs no works of our own, but only His grace to precede every good thing He provides. We come empty handed by faith to love and intimacy with Him.

Transcript:

Pastor Priji:How would somebody who is weak increase in faith and the knowledge of God?
Pastor Ankit:Just look at the faithfulness of Jesus. Jesus was faithful to the Father, always faithful to us, and is totally dependable.
Pastor Priji:How old were you when you started the church “Family of Lord Jesus” in Delhi?
Pastor Ankit:I was twenty seven when it started almost three years back. We had no agenda to start a church. We just wanted to love Him, sit in His presence and talk about Him.
We were just a group of young people who gathered together at the weekends to worship the Lord, which sometimes stretched out through the night.
More people started coming, getting healed, seeing angels, getting supernatural aid in finance, and so the church began.
Pastor Priji:So it was a move of God.
Were you prepared for this? Did God reveal it to you beforehand? How many people attend the church now?
Pastor Ankit:We have about three hundred members in church now. We did not expect this. We were but about four people in the beginning.
We were dissatisfied with the normal weekly church Christianity.
I prayed and asked God that His Word would be a reality in our lives and not just a theology book. If all these wonderful things could happen in the lives of Moses, Abraham, Paul, and Peter, then it should be happening in ours.
Pastor Priji:What was the one revelation that completely revolutionised the way you related to God?
Pastor Ankit:One morning at four I was praying and crying out to God that I wanted to be His servant. His glory filled the room. He told me not to say I want to be His servant because He has many servants, and be His friend because He has few of them. That changed the way I looked at God.
He not looking for servants; He’s looking for friends with whom He can share His heart and hang out with.
Pastor Priji:If I was someone who believed that miracles ceased with the apostles, how would you convince me otherwise?
Pastor Ankit:I would invite you to one of our services.
Jesus is the living God.
His miracles were, and still is, a confirmation of the preached Word.
Pastor Priji:Did you teach about healing in the church before it’s occurrence?
Pastor Ankit:Mostly, we teach about the Father’s heart.
Many people don’t get healed because they do not have that confidence in Him being a loving, caring Father.
Paul says therefore to come boldly to the throne of grace. He never said “the throne of judgment”.
Whenever there’s a need, the first thing to do is to run to that throne.
Pastor Priji:How do you view grace?
Pastor Ankit:Grace is not a doctrine; it is a Person. John says Jesus is full of grace and truth.
Grace is the empowerment to not sin, and not a licence to sin. Paul says under grace sin has no power over us.
The first thing that causes our salvation is grace. People who do not understand grace, won’t be able to understand the love of the Father. When I understand grace, I love the Father, and further I long for fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
No one needs to compel me in spiritual things. I no longer pray, read the Word, because I have to, but because I want to.
We do it not just out of obligation but out of love.
Pastor Priji:What is the comparison between people who try to get answers to prayers through works and those who rely on grace?
Pastor Ankit:There are miracles that happen in the lives of those living in the law too. God heals because He loves.
What we should desire is intimacy with the Father. One cannot live in continuous sin when living with the Father. His love will consume all sin.
However there are people who are quick to judge when there are problems stating it is because of a lack of prayer or fasting, or the presence of sin. But those who understand grace, know it is simply the love of the Father that heals and delivers.
When it is not longer I that live, but Christ Who lives in me, I am crucified and can never boast in any of my works. Nothing happens because I did something right. It is His faithfulness.
Pastor Priji:You once told me that God said He’s coming for not broken weak bride, but a glorious one. How would you describe a glorious bride?
Pastor Ankit:I think the glorious church is the one that positions itself under sonship.
Before Jesus did any miracle, or preached any sermon, He was declared by the Father to be His beloved Son. His ministry started from that affirmation from the Father. It should so be with us.
The earth is groaning for the manifestation of the sons of God, not servants. They have to walk as Jesus walked.
We need to engage with the supernatural that is all around us. We tell Godto come into the natural when the Bible actually says wemust worship in Spirit. It is the other way around. We must not ask Godto come. Instead, wemust enter His presence.
When we move in the Spirit and became sensitive to it, we can engage with it. That is the glorious church.
If you feel condemned, remember Jesus came for the nobodies.

To connect with Pastor Ankit Sajwan, do visit the following links:
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