WIC Weekly January 29th 2023
Warsaw International Church
Mobile +48 601 331 032
Worship every Sunday at ul. Miodowa 21 (near Old Town) at 11:00 AM
Entrance from Schillera Street
Email: pastor@wic.org.pl
Website: http://www.wic.org.pl
WIC WEEKLY 29 JANUARY 2023 FROM PASTOR HARRY
Spiritual Nourishment
The Key To Revival by Rich Carmicheal
Some people believe the situation is too dire and the time too short for the Lord to send another awakening, but these are the very reasons to believe the Lord all the more for one final outpouring! Surely He wants to awaken many hearts in these last days before Christ returns! And the reality is this: the Lord can do a phenomenal work in a nation(s) in a very short time, no matter how bleak the conditions, if only His people will humble themselves, and pray and seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways (2 Chr. 7:13-14).
Consider the example of the revival in Wales in 1904-1905. Before the revival broke out, the overall spiritual and moral condition of the country was dark. But in the midst of this, godly people were humbling themselves, and praying, and seeking God’s face, and turning from their sins. And the result? God poured out a revival that led to 100,000 conversions in the first six months and that impacted the spiritual and moral climate throughout the country – and far beyond!
Consider also the revival in 1857-1859 in the USA. This revival started with just a handful of godly intercessors, and yet by the end there were two million conversions and moral change across the country.
Can the Lord do it again in our day? There is no doubt that He can and that He desires to do so. The more pressing question is, will we, as God’s people, stir up ourselves to seek Him wholeheartedly for personal and corporate revival? The Lord is looking to us as the key to revival – “If My people…” (2 Chr. 7:14).
Unfortunately, too many people are looking to politicians or legislation to solve our problems. While these have their place, the only hope for the kind of spiritual and moral breakthrough we need is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In fact, consider this feature of the Welsh revival: “Political meetings were abandoned. They seemed completely out of the question since nobody was interested. The political leaders, even from the parliament in London, abandoned themselves to the revival meetings”. In other words, the revival didn’t need the politicians, the politicians needed the revival! And revivals start with a remnant of God’s people getting serious with Him!
Requirements for Revival
To that end, consider these four conditions emphasized by Evan Roberts, a leader in the Welsh revival, as essential for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit:
• Is there any sin in your past that you have not confessed to God? On your knees at once! Your past must be put away and yourself cleansed.
• Is there anything in your life that is doubtful – anything you cannot decide whether it is good or evil? Away with it! There must not be a trace of a cloud between you and God. Have you forgiven everybody – EVERYBODY? If not, do not expect forgiveness for your own sins: you will not get it (Matt. 6:12; Mark 11:25-26).
• Do what the Spirit prompts you to do. Obedience – prompt, implicit, unquestioning obedience to the Spirit.
• A public confession of Christ as your Saviour. There is a vast difference between profession and confession.
With this last condition in mind, remember that in true revival Christ Himself is the centre of attention. May we wholeheartedly seek revival for His glory!
Our News
At last Sunday’s service our newcomers included a brother from Mexico, sisters from Zimbabwe and Rwanda, Kaleb from Ethiopia and Nicolas from Chile.
Last Sunday, three sisters and one brother became official members of WIC. They were Boriana from the UK/Bulgaria, Mark from Ghana, and Meron and Saron from Ethiopia. Two more brothers have expressed a desire to become formal members in the near future.
Thanks to an idea from Sister Laura, slips are now being handed out after services for people to give their names, birthdays and email addresses if they wish to receive this weekly newsletter. With so many new people coming, it’s very difficult to keep track of everybody’s name and contact details!
WIC Video
A video has been recorded promoting WIC, its pastor and his life story, and some secrets of what makes a marriage work and leads to happiness. It is in Polish but with English subtitles, so everyone can understand what’s being said. Please don’t hesitate to use it as an evangelizing or counselling tool. The link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFojH1Efe5E
Annual Conference and Pledge Form
WIC’s Annual Conference will be held on 5 February. From our Treasurer, Piotr Dypczyński:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Each year, during our Fall Stewardship campaign, we invite our members and regular worshippers to make a commitment of their time and financial resources to enable WIC to do God’s work. Both contributions are important.
Self-supporting Churches, such as ours, are possible because friends and members voluntarily help and pay the bills. Some volunteers help with worship, prepare fellowship events, or serve on the Council. Volunteers are the builders of our Church community.
The Council will work on our budget for 2023 with expenses in the current range of 69,000 PLN. This is the modest budget needed to meet the operational needs of the Church as it functions now. Over the next few Sundays we will be asking you to consider the financial resources you can commit to WIC in the coming year to help us meet this budget, if not exceed it. We are proud of our unique 39-year history and feel that WIC has a lot yet to accomplish in doing God’s work.
Please consider prayerfully what you are able to commit to WIC for the year 2023. Every commitment counts. Annual pledges are deeply appreciated.
Pledge forms will be handed out during the next few Sundays and will be collected during the offering. If you cannot attend worship service in the coming weeks please contact the Treasurer Piotr Dypczyński at pledge@wic.org.pl with your pledge.
Thank you for your help in keeping WIC able to share in God’s work. Yours in Christ,
Piotr Dypczyński Church Council Treasurer
And here is the pledge form. Please pray about it, consider what you can contribute (maybe as part of your tithe), fill it in, and return it as indicated above:
WIC Pledge Form 2023
Warsaw International Church
Stewardship Commitment/ Pledge Form
As an expression of my/our love for God and support of His work
through the ministry of WIC, I/we make the following commitment to
support the work of the Church.
Currency: PLN / USD / EUR / ____
Amount: _
For the calendar year 2023
Amount: ____ every: week / month / quarter in 2023
Note to the Treasurer ___
Name: ___
Email: ___
Phone: ___ Signed: ____
Taxpayers may claim credit for their contributions to WIC.
We are registered in the Polish record of Churches and Religious
Associations – in position 132. Polish contributions for tax
deductions must be made by bank transfer.
Polish bank transfers to:
Warsaw International Church
ul. Willowa 1, 00-789 Warszawa
Bank account: PL 63 1090 1056 0000 0000 0600 9128
SWIFT code: WBKPPLPP
Santander Bank Polska S.A. with its registered office in Warsaw,
al. Jana Pawła II 17, 00-854 Warszawa
Christian Films
Watch wonderful free Christian films of hope and encouragement! They include films about the life of Jesus, testimonies of Christians who have suffered persecution, and excellent cartoon films for both children and adults on Christian spiritual reformers and missionaries. The link is: https://www.vm1.tv/
Outreach Flyer
WIC’s street evangelists use, among others, this flyer which you might also want to print out (change the format as you wish) and distribute to friends and strangers in your home area:
Why Do We Suffer?
The world is witnessing a terrible conflict in the heart of Europe, and many are asking: if there is a God, why does He allow such horrible suffering and cruelty? Well, God gives us free will, but we all turn from Him and fall into sin: “There is no one righteous, not even one (…). All have turned away” (Romans 3:10 and 12). The suffering in the world is the result of sin. Have you ever told a lie, or stolen something, or judged or got angry with someone? Then you too are a sinner against a holy God. Can you be saved? How?
Many people say that, because God is merciful, He will simply forgive us our sins! But God is not only merciful, He is also just – and the penalty for our sins must be paid. Think of a man in court, who owes a large sum of money but cannot repay it. He begs the judge for mercy. The judge is a merciful person, but the debt must somehow be repaid. The only thing the judge can do is take out his cheque book, make out a cheque for the amount owed, and repay the man’s debt out of his own pocket.
But this is exactly what God has done for us! He came to earth as a sinless man – Jesus Christ – to pay our debt, by dying for us on a cross and paying the price for our sins, so that we can be forgiven and saved: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). There is no other way God can rescue us from eternal death because of our sins. Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
So we see that God has actually already saved us! This is the Good News of Jesus Christ! When Jesus died for you, He took away the punishment for your sins by taking them upon Himself. Then He rose from the dead to give you eternal life. But you must activate your salvation by believing in what Jesus has already done, putting your faith and trust in Him alone – otherwise your salvation is worth nothing, like a present which is never opened. Pray sincerely: “Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I thank You for forgiving me and saving me on the cross. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Saviour from now on. Amen.” Then find a church to join, where you will grow in the love of Christ. For the first time, let the Lord build your house!
Prayer
A Ukraine sister connected with our church is preparing to have further surgery for cancer, and needs our prayers for support and healing.
Another sister from Ukraine, who is now in Canada, asks for prayer for the churches in North America, which in many cases are drastically losing members. In Ukraine, however, despite the horrors of war, a spiritual revival is underway. It seems that people only turn to God when bombs are literally falling on them.
We give thanks for the four people who formally joined WIC last Sunday and pray that many more will make this commitment in 2023. Let us continue to pray for revival at WIC.
WIC’s Annual Conference will be held next Sunday (5 February). This is our annual occasion for reporting on what has happened over the past year, our financial situation, vision and plans for the future, the election of a new Church Council, and for all participants to put forward their comments and suggestions. Please pray that it will be a meaningful conference which will inspire our whole church.
Last Sunday’s sermon was preached by Pastor Harry on being prepared and being disciplined
Is there hope for mankind? So much evil in the world: so much violence, corruption, selfishness and all kinds of sin. As Christians, we are worried, because we believe what the Bible says about the consequences of sin and evil. We seem to be heading towards destruction, not progress (as some unbelievers think). Do we have a “man of lawlessness”, as the Bible predicts? Yes, we do. Do we have a people, willing to believe his lies? Yes, we do. Is God causing these people to be greatly deceived, so that they believe in the man’s lies? Yes, He is. The time left to us could be very short, before Christ comes again.
Our hope, of course, lies in Jesus, and in the revival to come. The whole Christian world needs to be revived! So many churches are dead, especially in the rich Western nations. But those Christians who are spiritually alive are crying out for unbelievers to be saved! But I hope the whole Christian world knows that salvation depends on God, not man. God knows when a person will be saved. God will be the one who saves them. God knows when to send revival. And God knows when Christ will come again. All praise and glory to our Lord on high!
Today’s Bible passages tell us that the state of the world right now is no different from Noah’s day. Nothing has changed! The world is still corrupt and filled with violence. People are still enjoying banquets, parties and weddings. Most of them don’t realize what might well take place. Or maybe they are indeed scared, but they pretend to ignore it, and get on with their lives as if nothing were going to happen. Or they persuade themselves to think positively, because they say it doesn’t necessarily have to be like the Bible says. And so they carry on deceiving themselves and others, drinking and dancing and partying – completely ignoring the writing on the wall. Such is the state of our world. But we ignore the coming destruction at our peril.
However, in the Bible, safety and rescue from this situation are given in Jesus Christ. In today’s New Testament reading, the Son of Man is our rescue: those are the words of Jesus Himself. And in the Old Testament reading, the Bible speaks of Jesus through the symbols it uses. Noah’s ark is a symbol of Christ Himself! Get into the Ark, and you will be safe. The rainbow too is such a symbol. God says He has put His rainbow in the sky, so that when people look up and see it, they will remember that this is the sign of God’s covenant with man – God’s promise to man – that he will not be totally exterminated. And Jesus told us that He Himself – His blood, shed for you and me, which He calls “My blood of the covenant” – Jesus Himself fulfils that covenant. Come to Jesus, and you won’t be destroyed.
My Friends, some of our worshippers believe a revival is close. That’s good to know. More and more people are joining us; and our prayers are becoming more urgent. But it’s not a revival – maybe just a small awakening. When unbelievers get saved in this church, that’s when we can start speaking of the beginnings of a revival. Because, you see, we’re not yet ready for it.
The Bible tells us that there are three kinds of man: natural, carnal and spiritual. The natural man is he who knows nothing of God, and doesn’t care about Him. To the natural man, our faith is stupid: a deception. The natural man is totally lost, and will perish, unless he gives his heart to Christ.
The carnal man has received Christ into his heart, and is therefore saved. But he is still unclean and full of sin. For example, he may love Christ, but he drinks and smokes. He may love Christ, but he is sleeping around with someone. These are only examples. He may love Christ, but he worries, and gets angry, swears and is lazy, and has doubts. This describes just about all of us, doesn’t it? Romans chapter 7 describes it perfectly. Read it and see.
And then there is the spiritual man. By God’s grace, he has succeeded in getting rid of the sins and impurities which were plaguing him, or her. Such people are a clean vessel for the Lord to pour His Holy Spirit into, with revival power. We spoke about the baptism of the Holy Spirit at last week’s Bible study. Make no mistake: the Holy Spirit was given to you when you gave your heart to Jesus – even though you are still a carnal Christian. But you cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit – because your sins and impurities are blocking you. You are not yet ready for the revival you so badly want.
In just a while, four people will be received as official members of WIC. I’ll ask them if they will be faithful to our church, and support it by their prayers, their attendance, their gifts and their service. Hopefully they will say “I will” – and maybe you are saying the same, in your hearts. But look: do you come regularly to worship? Or do sleepiness and the pleasures of this world get in the way? Or maybe you can’t wait to get out of church quickly enough, because other pleasures are knocking at your door?
Why do you regularly come to church at 11:20, when the service starts at 11? If Jesus were here (and actually He is here), you’d be here at 8:30, trying to get the best seat! Do you attend a midweek Bible study, or prayer meeting, or home group? If not, why not? If there’s not one that’s convenient for you, why don’t you start your own? And why do you turn away from God and the church, when things get rough? That’s precisely when you need to be in church! Are you mad at God for some reason? It means you don’t trust Him to see you through your crisis.
Are you giving at least a tenth of your time to the Lord? – that’s over 2 hours a day. Are you spending it in prayer and studying the treasures in the Bible; and encouraging others to turn to Christ? How many people did you encourage like that last week? And are you giving at least a tenth of your income to the Lord? Have you done so in the collection basket? Have you filled out a pledge form? In the early church, people gave a tenth of their income to the church, and they experienced miracles. Maybe you call yourself a tongues-speaking Christian. But what’s the good of speaking in tongues if you don’t tithe? Can we expect revival like that?
Brothers and Sisters, Satan never sleeps. Satan wants to keep us carnal – because he fears revival. Because when revival occurs, Satan loses control of unbelievers. Masses of people get saved. That’s what we long for. But we must be clean first. We must be disciplined. No discipline, no revival.
Let me leave you with the verse for this week: “Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him”. The key word is “exactly”. Not vaguely, or half-heartedly, or carelessly – but exactly. Otherwise his ark would have sunk! Similarly, God is not going to pour His wine – His Holy Spirit – into our unclean, unprepared vessels. So let us discipline ourselves by carrying out the Lord’s commands exactly – and then we can expect to be filled with the Holy Spirit of revival. Amen.
Sermon points
Mankind hasn’t changed since Noah’s day.
Symbols of God’s covenant (Christ) in the Old and New Testaments.
The three kinds of man: natural, carnal and spiritual.
We want revival but aren’t prepared to discipline ourselves for it: see Romans 7:14-25.
God will not pour His Holy Spirit into unprepared vessels.
Readings and Hymns for the 29 January service
Verse for the week: “The Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!” (Luke 10:41).
Theme: How do you react when Jesus is your guest?
Psalm: 119:169-176
First reading: Luke 14:7-11
Second reading: Luke 10: 38-42
Offering verse: “One tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain from the fields or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord and must be set apart to Him as holy”. (Leviticus 27:30).
Please be informed that your Data Administrator within the meaning of Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation, ”GDPR”), is Warsaw International Church with its registered office in Warsaw (00-789) at ul. Willowa 1.