A Day of Training

Right after I was healed from my bodily weakness, I was with the short-term trainees for a day of training classes. In fact, I was healed the very morning I was to take the classes when the whole week I was mostly taking rest. 

The first two classes in the morning in coordination with a brother were on what is life and what is the experience of life. A brother first did the truth presentation and I followed to release the burden. 

In the first class, I released the burden on the need to experience life in addition to merely knowing the truth concerning life. I even asked each one to recollect the day they first believed into the Lord Jesus or got baptised. The burden was to help them know the eternal and divine life of God is reality and that the best way to know life is by experiencing life.

On knowing the experience of life, I gave an example of Saul of Tarsus in Acts 9:1-22. Through the personal experience of life, Saul, a persecutor of Christ became a propagator of Christ. What changed him was the experience of life! When the Lord met him in the form of a great light, he believed into the Lord when God touched him and he touched God. There was a spiritual transaction between God and him that resulted in being a totally different person. In both the classes, the Spirit's move was so strong. The trainees echoed their reception of the ministry of the word with strong prayers.

The result of experiencing life in which God passed through man and man passed through God is man becomes a tranformed person. God's life was dispensed into him to make him God-man. All that a man needs is the dispensing of God. This transforms a person and also fulfills God’s eternal purpose.

In the afternoon, I had a class on Bible reading and prayer when I presented the truth points from Life Lesson on the same subject and gave practical ways with testimonies of Bible reading and prayer life. The burden the Lord gave me was to hlep all the young ones to inculcate in them a habit of daily Bible reading and prayer. This is a foundation for their Christian life, for their growth and function in the Body. 

Meanwhile, my wife and other sisters coordinated in cooking for all the trainees, both lunch and dinner. In this way, the church in Gurugram enjoyed the grace from the Lord to participate in the training by supplying spiritual and physical food to all the trainees.

The day was a well spent day. After the class, I also got to visit a distant family who came to Delhi for medical treatment. And then, as a family, we also visited another family for dinner in the night. The whole day was a day of ministering the word and fellowship. Praise the Lord for His grace to participate in His move!

A Week of Weakness

A few days after I came back from the ministry literature journey, my body became weak. However, due to the responsibilities I bear as a father in the family, as a brother in the church, and as a director in the office, I did not take much rest. I still went on and on to do what I felt I should do. My body could not take too much load and I felt sick. Even in sickness, I still did my best to read my Bible and pray. Though for a few days I was not able to go out for prayer as usual. Still, I prayed as I took rest in my bed. My body weakness went on for about a week and I did not resort to medicine. I prefer to let my body rest and fight the disease back. So, I let my body heal itself with proper rest and adequate diet. 

This week of bodily weakness was a time of rest for me. Otherwise, I would not have given my body so much rest. During this time too, I learned that the Lord wanted to teach me a lesson on health, especially in my eating habit. Rice and spicy chilly that I liked so much and ate in every meal were reduced. Besides, I also cut down on my food consumption drastically, perhaps by about 30 to 50 percent. This was a timely medical advice in real life. Without such time of body weakness, I would not have learnt this precious lesson. Thank the Lord for His timely visitation of grace!

This week of weakness had changed my schedule altogether. I was supposed to spend time on my Hebrews class and complete what was left out, but my plan could not be carried out due to this unavoidable circumstances. I accepted the Lord’s sovereignty. He knows what is best.

Gradually, after a week of rest, my body recovered back. And in fact, the Lord healed me just in time to be able to function in the short term training classes that were scheduled for me. All things indeed worked together for good.

Ministry of the Word in Keralam

Today, as we were on the ministry of the word journey in South Keralam, two similar and interesting things occurred.  

We were given an appointment with a principal of a Bible college at 10 am. As we arrived at his place, he was not to be found. Later, we were told to attend a meeting with the college students and I was surprisingly asked to minister the word. I simply followed whatever the Lord had arranged. As the students were singing worship songs, I looked to the Lord and considered what to minister. I had no idea what was going on, nor what to minister. However, I took the situation as arranged by the Lord and waited for the Lord’s leading.

When I was called to minister the word, I went to the podium, and then the word of God came to me. I knew exactly what to minister; God's Eternal Plan. Starting from Genesis 1:26 through 2:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 1 Corinthians 15:45; John 3:16,15;1:12,13; 6:48,57,63 and Matthew 4:4, I ministered on the creation of man with three parts to fulfill God's purpose and all the steps God took to fulfill it, and how man can fulfill God's purpose through regeneration and growth in life unto maturity. The burden God gave me was released and I concluded the meeting with a prayer. All the attendants were all from North India, Hindi-speaking brothers. 

Later, we went to another Bible college. There too, I was asked to minister the word without any prior information. When I was introduced, welcomed, and called, then only the Lord gave me the words to minister. I basically introduced the Holy Bible Recovery Version and showed Bible verses with their deep meaning and revelation contained within. I used Genesis 1:1, 2:7, Proverbs 20:27; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Matthew 1:1,3,6,16,21,23, the subjects of the four Gospels, the notes on the Son of David, and the four women in Matthew 1. All these explanation and exposition put together formed a message to the Bible students. Later, a good number of them purchased the Holy Bible Recovery Version. 

Surprisingly, in the two Bible colleges in the South, majority of the students are from Hindi-speaking North Indians and a few North East Indians. I ended up ministering to the Hindi-speaking students in South India. 

God is sovereign. Though the enemy tried to close the door of the gospel in the North, God sent the North Indians to the South to study the Bible and receive the ministry of the word! The Lord just sent me from the North to minister to the North Indians in South India. What an arrangement! Only the all-wise God can do this. 

Today was the ministry of the word to the Hindi-speaking brothers and sisters fron North India in South India. This was the Lord’s doing and, indeed, it was marvelous! 

Lord, bless India!

Shepherding in Keralam

During the one day gap between the conferences in North and Central Keralam on the 26th June, we had a time of shepherding visit to a family and ministering the word to a seeking believer in Palakkad where the saints are.

In the home of a brother and sister who have drifted away from the church life, I was asked to share something suddenly. Within a few seconds, I exercised my spirit and released the burden the Spirit gave at that moment, for the couple. The ministry of the word was on experiencing and enjoying the presence of the Lord even in the most difficult circumstances. When faced with situations, it is easy to blame the situations and drift away into the world or self or sin. The easiest way at such time was to be carried away by the ongoing current. Or even to pray for deliverance from such situations. But the Lord’s way was not merely deliverance, but His presence in the situation and turning it into a pleasant one as the Lord turned the blazing furnace of fire into a pleasant place for Daniel's three friends. There was no deliverance but His presence. By understanding God's way, one can gain God through all circumstances and grow unto full maturity to become the prepared Bride to fulfill God's eternal purpose. The fellowship was so timely and the couple prayed according to the words spoken.

Then, we visited a brother in his assembly hall where I was surprised by the sight I saw inside the hall. The bookshelf was almost filled with Malayalam HWMRs and on the table, the latest issue of Malayalam HWMR. I was asked to minister on the New Testament ministry and I did so with Malayalam translation for about an hour until I fully released my burden. Later, the brothers continued to fellowship directly in Malayalam. After such fellowship, the key brother purchased all the title books in Malayalam and a box of Malayalam New Testament Recovery Version. 

This experience became a strong testimony for us as we referred the same in all the three place of blending conference to encourage the saint to pay the price to buy the ministry books, pursue and be constituted with it.

The Lord indeed has reserved and preserved His seeker of the truth even in different Christian groups! O what a sight to behold the ministry books in the meeting hall of Christians who are still in different group! The ministry is for all. 

Meeting in Thengapatnam

Therefore having this ministry as we have been shown mercy, we do not lose heart;

2 Corinthians 4:1 RecVer

On the 29th June, after the conferences, we had a time of fellowship and prayer, and completed some pending works. In the evening, I was led to join the group meeting of the saints in the church in Marthandam at a home of the saints in Thengapatnam. As requested by the brother, I ministered on the New Testament ministry, the unique ministry according to the apostles' teaching for the building up the Body of Christ that consummate the New Jerusalem. 

Tracing the Bible from Genesis all the way to Revelation on the all-inherting vision, I ministered on the vision during the time of Adam, Abel, Enosh, Enoch, Noah,.. Moses,..David, Solomon, and then to Jesus in the Gospels, the apostles' one work in the epistles, and finally to the consummation in the New Jerusalem with a strong emphasis on the New Testament, one unique ministry of the Spirit, of life, for the building up of the Body of Christ. A brother took notes of every Bible verses I quoted and also noted down the crucial points ministered. Later, the saints prophesied one by one, echoing the words ministered.

This was a wonderful small group meeting where a specific burden was released and all the saints mutually shared. It was such a shepherding and perfecting meeting. I myself was very supplied by the ministry of the word though I was the one who ministered outwardly, it was the Lord who ministered. Praise the Lord for the church life and the ministry of the word!

Blending in Keralam

I just came back from the fellowship in Chennai, the ministry literature journey in Nagercoil, and also from the fellowship of the brothers in Keralam. Then, I received a fellowship from the brothers about the need to go again to Keralam for conferences. My innate response was; not me this time, I just came back from South India ministry journey and I had other plans. However, I kept myself open to the fellowship and took the matter to prayer. As I prayed, the Lord confirmed that I should go again and thst this was His arrangement. Then, I made a plan to also carry out the ministry literature distribution in addition to attending the conferences. 

On the 24th June, I landed at Kozhikode airport. This was my first time to this beautiful city of landscapes teeming with greens everywhere, a blend of coconut trees and many others. The next day, the 25th June, the regional blending conference for the saints in North Keralam was held in Kozhikode. Some of us brothers coordinated to release the messages according to the need of the present situation among the saints and the churches in Keralam. In fellowship and in sweet one accord, we faithfully ministered the word and enjoyed blending with the saints. My portion for the ministry of the word was on "Arriving at the Highest Peak of the Divine Revelation" shared at the last session.

On the 27th June, the same blending conference was held in Perumbavoor for the churches in central Keralam and on the 28th June in Kattakada for the churches in South Keralam with the same set of messages. In these two places, my portions of the ministry of the word were on "The Triune God- the Three-one God for His Divine Dispensing to Carry Out His Eternal Economy" and "Arriving at the Highest Peak of the Divine Revelation." 

The reason such conferences was to address the ongoing situation faced by the churches in Keralam as some different teachings from some dissenting brothers were creeping in subtly to distract the saints from the enjoyment of the Lord. This was also very timely for the blending of the saints together, especially in the South Keralam where such a blending was due for quite a while. The messages released were:

• The All-inheriting Vision, the One Accord, the High Peak of the Divine Revelation, and the Reality of the Body of Christ 
• The New Testament Ministry- the Unique Ministry according to the Apostles' Teaching
• The Triune God- the Three-one God for His Divine Dispensing to Carry Out His Eternal Economy 
• Arriving at the Highest Peak of the Divine Revelation

In so attending, I was able to meet some saints I had not met for many years. It was a refreshing time of meeting and fellowshipping with the saints.

As the saints also echoed the messages, it was confirmed that the Lord’s timely speaking was the need of the time for the saints in Keralam. Only the speaking of the Lord can heal the situation of the saints. Praise the Lord for the ministry!

Lord, blend and bless the churches in Keralam for Your strong amd shining testimony. 

Prayer and the Presence of God

Now when Daniel came to know that the writing had been signed, he went to his house (in his upper room he had windows open toward Jerusalem) and three times daily he knelt on his knees and prayed and gave thanks before his God, because he had always done so previously.

Daniel 6:10 RecVer

Daniel depended on prayer to do what man could not do and to understand what man could not understand. There is no other way to bring God’s economy into fulness and into fulfillment except by prayer; this is the inner secret of this chapter.

God desires to carry out His economy, but man is needed to pray for His economy on earth. God carries out His economy through His faithful channels of prayer. Today prayer is the lifeline in the Lord’s recovery. The more Satan tries to frustrate our prayer, the more we should pray.

This portion from the ministry supplied me with much light and life concerning my prayer life. I again and again repeated this burden to all the saints in my locality, to the people I am in contact, to the ones under my shepherding, and to my own family members, to live a life of prayer, to bring every matter to the Lord in prayer and also to also set specific time to pray daily. Daniel's three times a day prayer is a wonderful pattern for all to follow. 

May the Lord grace us all to men of prayer. 

If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the blazing furnace of fire, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods nor worship the golden image that you have set up.

Daniel 3:17-18 RecVer

Upon careful consideration of the verses above, one can learn some important spiritual lessons. First, trusting in the living God come what may, God is faithful to take care of His children, even in living or dying. Second, one must not assume what God would do. God's intention with Daniel's three friends was not to deliver them from the furnace of fire but to let them go through it with His presence. In fact, God only arranged the three to go through the fiery furnace and thereby manifest who He is. Third, God can turn, and He will turn, whatever circumstances to His and His children's favor. Even the blazing furnace of fire becomes a pleasant place with Him to the extent that the fire has no effect whatsoever, against the natural law for He is above the natural laws, in fact, the very Creator Himself.

The presence of the Lord turns even the blazing furnace of fire into a pleasant place. His presence is all that matters, no matter the circumstances. The Lord did not deliver Daniel's three friends from the furnace of fire, instead He allowed them to go through it, but with His presence. The furnace of fire did no affect them at all, instead it drew the King's attention to the living God!

The Lord may not always deliver us from the furnace, but He will always meet us in the furnace. His presence turns the place of suffering into a place of enjoyment, and the fire that tests us becomes the means by which we gain more of Christ.

As a man of prayer living in the presence of God, everything is a blessing. All circumstances are pleasant with the presence of God. And all these, are for God to gain His chosen and redeemed ones to be fully one with Him to accomplish His eternal purpose on the earth. What a Christian life we are living today! What a blessing that we live on the earth today as God-man! No works of Satan can deter God's plan. On the contrary, God turns every scheme of Satan to display His multifarious wisdom. Hallelujah!

But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us.

Romans 8:37 RecVer

But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57 RecVer