Brothers Fellowship at Hyderabad

Recovery Visits

During this time of visit to Hyderabad, the Lord burdened me to visit a couple of families for the dual purpose of visiting them after a long time and also for shepherding them into the church life by introducing the church brothers in Hyderabad. 

The first family on my list of burden was a doctor's family. I met them for the first time in 2005 when as trainee I went to the most prestigious medical university in Delhi for the preaching of the gospel. Since then, this family has been in touch, of course, off and on, and they even joined the meetings now and then. Now that they are placed in Hyderabad, and that the church is here, I felt it good to introduce the brothers in the church. 

Our fellowship began with a note on the one new man and a review of the recent conference message, the deepest thought in the books of Romans: God became man to make man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. Then we went on to fellowship the truth concerning the Body of Christ with an emphasis on the oneness and practice of the church life in a local church. Out of burden, I also encouraged the family to open their home for home meeting to which they also felt the need and agreed to it. Now it is up to the local church to consider the follow-up shepherding. By the way, we enjoyed a wonderful grilled and chilly chicken too as our lovefeast. I felt so burdened for this brother's family to be properly shepherded into the church life as I know them as ardent lovers and seekers of the Lord Jesus Christ, besides they being also introduced and tasted the ministry of the word and the church life when in Delhi. 

We also met with a brother who is highly placed in a multi national company who has the heart of the gospel and is burdened to shepherd seeking believers. Though he himself may not regularly join the church meeting, he has been enjoying the ministry of the word and also had once been to the short-term training in Gurgaon. Now, having introduced him again to the brothers in the church, he was willing to coordinate with the saints in spreading the ministry books among the working class of seekers in his company. May the Lord gain our brother and make him a useful vessel unto Him. 

Another surprise meeting was with an Engineer whom I met and knew him way back in 2005 while serving the Lord in the church in Delhi. He enjoyed the church life then, had been to USA twice for engineering job, and was in one of the local churches in USA. Now he is back to India, and testified to us that he also quit his job to serve the Lord full time purely out of burden. To my surprise, he also testified that the Lord led him to serve among the gentiles, mostly the uneducated youth in the outskirt of the city, and also gained a good number of new believers. In fact, he used to fellowship with the church some six years ago and lost touch for some reason. It was a joy that by this visitation a preparatory ground work was done for the recovery of this brother and the group of new believers he is shepherding. 

To this brother, the specific burden I released was on the reality and practicality of the Body of Christ with an emphasis on the need for more fellowship as members in the Body. I also shared some specific points of truth from The Normal Christian Church Life by Watchman Nee and The Genuine Ground of Oneness by Witness Lee, with my experiences of these truths as a personal testimony. The Lord blessed the fellowship and he opened up for more practical fellowship in the coming day. He himself spoke up and requested brothers to visit him, and he expressed his willingness to fellowship and blend with the church. By the way, his mom prepared a tasty local Chicken curry for the lovefeast with a delicious dessert that pleased my palate.  

After all these families visit, I fellowshipped with the brother in the church that the Lord has opened many doors and He is recovering many of His children. In fact, I prophesied to the brothers by faith that God is blessing the church and is going to double the number of the saints in the church this year itself. The brother also testified that all these are indeed God's blessing to the church here, as the church has been brought into more fellowship and blending in the Body. With all these visits, I testified to the brother that my burden was released for this visit. I personally was so thankful to the Lord that I was graced to introduce and shepherd the seekers known to me personally to the church. 

I now pray and believe that all these families would be fully recovered for the testimony of Jesus and the church-life in Hyderabad. O how I long to see them again; they all being in sweet fellowship, oneness, blending, all for the building up of the church in Hyderabad! 

Friends Reunion

Last weekend in Hyderabad I was happily surprised to see a brother, who is also my ex-classmate, attending the same brothers' fellowship. Though we have been friends for over one and half decade it is very rare to see my own friend enjoying the same truth and practice the same church life as I do. Because of this joy, and perhaps, because of friendship too, literally, we were all the time together during the breaks as friends and as brothers. 

The Lord graced us sweet time of quality fellowship especially in a way of shepherding pertaining to his personal and family life. As we fellowshipped, I also felt the Lord's leading and anointing. One striking matter of fellowship was related to spending set and specific time with the Lord in prayer, steadfast in pursuing the ministry of the word, reading the Bible, and meeting with the saints in his locality. I also fellowshipped on how his fellowship with his in-laws can sweetly be restored by taking care of their feeling and concern. And that through this all of them, his in-laws and his own family be recovered for the church-life. After this fellowship, we both felt very peaceful and prayed together. I believe he took the fellowship seriously and the Lord would grace and bless his families too. 

Besides, on the Lord's day another ex-classmate joined us. I was especially glad that the two of them are preserved by the Lord for His testimony. They both loved the Lord, and our relationship as friends and brothers have been very sweet. 

The latter friend who joined us, is from Hyderabad. I felt the inner peace to immediately introduced him to the brothers in the church in Hyderabad. And to my surprise, he was so open that he readily agreed to join the brothers' fellowship of the church on Saturdays. The brothers in Hyderabad were also very glad that a new brother was being introduced. We also visited him in his house for a time of fellowship. We recollected our student days, shared testimonies, and praised the Lord for His sovereignty in leading us all these years. I also shared my recent enjoyment of the word in how the Lord cared for his disciples and the needy saints more than the old laws and rituals, and our need to care for the reality of the enjoyment of Christ rather than observing religious duties imposed by some Christians today. He opened up further more and expressed his willingness to fully blend with the saints in the church was confirmed. May the Lord fully gain and recover him for His testimony. 

Out of the thirty students in my master's degree in Computer Science, the Lord has recovered three of us into the fellowship and oneness of the Body of Christ. This may be a mere 10%, but my prayer and burden is that, all of us could be fully recovered. Perhaps, the Lord will do so one day. Lord, hasten that day!

What a wonderful friends reunion indeed! A reunion not as the world would wonder, but a reunion in Christ for the church! Praise the Lord! 

Balance in Bearing Burdens

Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ completely. Galatians 6:2

There must be a striking balance between bearing one another's burden and bearing our own burden. On the one hand we all have to bear our own burden, yet at the same time we must bear the burden of one another. The two must be balanced. Extremity in any is a grave danger.

First, we must bear our own burden even in a sacrificial way and then fellowship with the saints in the Body to bear and share the same burden. We must not pass on the burden to others loosely and easily. And we must never take the Body for granted nor expect everything to come from others. This must be the lesson learned from our side in bearing our own burden. 

Besides, bearing our own burden we also must learn to give. The first principle in God’s financial management is "to give": Give with a pure motive. The law of giving is directly related to the law of sowing. Sowing is a law: You reap only what you sow. If you sow wheat, you will reap wheat, not barley. 

A simple example of specifically giving is to give 10% for the church and 5% for the work. And every year revise the percentage upward. In this way, we will be balanced in bearing the financial burden of the church and also of our own. 

This is a healthy way of bearing our own burden in a way of giving. 

At the same time, we must also be balanced in the Body and by the Body for the Body. We are in the Body, at the same time we are in a locality. Before we share our burden to others we must be sure before the Lord that we have the Lord’s presence in all that we do. We must abide by the law of giving and the law of sowing. 

Bearing the burden of others, especially, financial, the Bible has something to say:

1 Corinthians 16:1-3Now concerning the collection for the saints, just as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also do. On the first day of the week each one of you should lay aside in store to himself whatever he may have been prospered, that no collections be made when I come. And when I arrive, whomever you approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem; 

Collecting offering for the needy saints requires us not to love the world, nor mammon. 

Luke 16:13No household servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 

To serve the Lord requires us to love Him. By resurrection life and resurrection power we will overcome money and material possession. Giving money and material things in resurrection is a strong indication that we are under God's administration in resurrection and have overcome the possession of material riches. We are not governed by need, but by the leading of the Lord. The best way to be blessed by God in material riches is to give, not to receive, just as the Lord Jesus did. 

Acts 20:35In all things I have shown you by example that toiling in this way we ought to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. 

By this way of giving and bearing Rhema burden of other we will command blessing from God. 

Malachi 3:10Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse that there may be food in My house; and prove Me, if you will, by this, says Jehovah of hosts, whether I will open to you the windows of heaven and pour out blessing for you until there is no room for it. 

If we fully offer to God what belongs to Him that the church may be richly supplied, God will open the windows of heaven for us and pour out a blessing to us, and which there will not be enough room to contain. 

In this way, we bear our own burden, and at the same time we bear the burden of others. We will thus be blessed as a member in the Body and be blessed in the Body of which we are aso members. We must be balance in bearing burdens, of our own and also of others. 

Experiencing and Enjoying Christ

As we were gathered together to receive the Lord’s speaking through our brother Ron Kangas, I was so enlightened by this particular point of experiencing and enjoying Christ. Though I have been using this phrase many many times, this time the matter became very clear to me. 

Experiencing Christ is in the spirit, and absolutely of the Spirit as the Lord Spirit,  it is the exercise of our spirit. Enjoying Christ is in the soul, an organ of enjoyment, and it happens by the Lord shepherding of our soul. 

Our Christian life must be full of experiencing and enjoying Christ. It is very possible to experience Christ without enjoying Christ. All our experiences of Christ must lead us into the enjoyment of Christ. 

As brother ministered on 1 Corinthians 1:9, God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, I was further enlightened to see a deeper and finer point on this verse. 

"God has called us," implies we were in a realm out of which we were called. What is that realm? It basically is the realm of the world into which we were born, a world that is usurped by Satan. So the need for the calling out: Called out of something demonic, idolatrous, dark, violent,  deadly, inhuman, destructive.. 

If indeed we were called out of a realm, we must be called into another realm. For "into" implies, to enter into, to be one with it, to be baptised into it, and immersed into it... 

We are all called into the enjoyment of the all inclusive Christ! The fellowship in this verse implies communion, sharing something in common. The fellowship into which the Lord called us is the all-inclusive Christ, who is the rock, the bread, the water, the Head, the Body, the second man, life giving Spirit, and so many items. And He has called us into the enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ, as fellowship means that we have become one with Christ. 

Above all, God is faithful to do this: Calling us out of the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God, into Christ, into the Spirit. But the enemy always try to bring us out of the Spirit and he is busy roaming like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Nevertheless,  the Lord calls us inwardly, preserving us in the spirit to be one with Him.  

An encouraging verse in the book of Revelation of John is in chapter 22, and verse 14. Blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter by the gates into the city. This verse implies that it is likely possible to be soiled in our garment, but that that we be washed by the blood of the Lamb. Washing would not have been needed had we not been soiled ever. The fact is, as still human being, we may be soiled now and then, but we must always come back again and again to the Lord, to Him who is faithful and who has called us into the fellowship of His Son. As such, we are those who wash our robes, and therefore, have the right to the tree of life. Blessed are those who wash their robes, not those who are not soiled in their robes!

The fellowship of God's son is carried out by the Spirit and is also the fellowship of the apostles. The fellowship of the cross deepends the fellowship of life, our experience of the divine fellowship. There are hindrances in our inner being that needed to be dealt with by the cross. Fellowship frees us from sinful self through the cross and brings us into the fellowship of the Body of Christ. 

Out relationship with the Head is that of obedience, and our relationship with the Body is that of fellowship. We must be brought to a point where we can do nothing without fellowship. 

These are some precious lessons the Lord has taught me as brother ministered the word. May the Lord grace me to learn all these lesson thoroughly well: To experience and enjoy Christ and be in the fellowship of the all-inclusive Christ! 

New Homes for the Church Life

The sister who came on the 1st of January for a get-together meeting and who also opened her home for fellowship, Bible study, and prayer has been enjoying the fellowship in her house. Since the very first week of this month, the meeting at her home goes on weekly. The home visit was sweet and the fellowship on the word of God grows stronger. Each time we meet, we pursued together a shepherding material and the Lord used each week's portion to meet the timely need of the family. More than being coincidental, it was the Lord's sovereignty. This family was the family introduce to me almost a year ago by another seeking sister. Our fellowship began simply by a home visit and ministering the word of God. The hunger and thirst they had for the word brought us all together. Though the family has not yet joined the church meeting on Lord's day, they have been already foretasting the church life. The Lord will shepherd them into His flock one day.

Another family who has been in contact for many years with many ups and downs in their family life and in their relationship with some brothers and sisters has also opend up their home for a regular Life-study pursuing meeting. This year, a new schedule has been added in the church schedule. Last week we had our first meeting, pursuing the Life-study of the gospel of John. Our burden is for the saints to have a corporate pursuing of the ministry as the church and also for the family to be shepherded into the normal church life. We believe in the work of the Holy Spirit and in the power of the word of God. What we cannot, the Lord will accomplish through the gradual shepherding and ministering of the word of God. This family too has not yet joined the church meeting on the Lord's day. The Lord will shepherd them into His flock one day.

Though our burden is that the Lord would gain many families for the church life, He is shepherding us to shepherd the new ones, family by family, week by week, month by month, year by year, and gain solid materials for the building up of the church. All these years, I have been learning the lesson of shepherding. If people have to be gained solidly for the church life, solid foundation on the word of God must be laid first. For anything precious, there is always a price to pay. For anything of life, there is a need for growth and time involved. Crowds may throng, and crowds may leave, but the ones established in the faith and in the truth can never. Multitude crowded the Lord Jesus when He fed them and did works of wonders and miracles, but only eleven followed Him till the end. Though we need numbers, numbers don't come by waving a magic wand; it needs prayer, labor, and genuine shepherding care. I believe that this is the best part of a learning process in serving the Lord and His church. I pray that I learn this lesson thoroughly well.

Through these new homes opened up for home meeting, the Lord's shepherding will perfect all of us for the normal church life in Gurugram.

Ministry of the Word to Gurugram

The Lord has strategically placed us in the city of Gurugram. All these years we have been focusing on other parts of India and used Gurguram as a base. But beginning this year the Lord burdened us to concentrate on NCR(National Capital Region) for the spread of the ministry of the word. Since the burden was received from the Lord, the main thing in following up and carrying out the burden is to pray and pray and pray. I didn't know where and how to begin but kept praying, and also collecting contacts.

The first appointment the Lord released in this city was with a brother from a local Jat background. Our first fellowship was at a Cafe Coffee Day where we introduced the ministry books. The Lord's presence was so sweet as we fellowshipped and introduced the ministry to this brother. He was so impressed with the ministry and immediately shared few other Christian leaders' contact. Though this brother has started a ministry out of a burden, the Lord has been preserving him purely for His testimony. His appreciation of the truth was very encouraging. He also has a testimony of leaving the corporate world to serving the Lord in a full-time way. Though not a full fledge theologian like many other pastors, he's been training and equipping himself for the vision the Lord has shown him. Our first meeting happened two weeks ago, and then we met again yesterday.

This time the Lord has revealed through our fellowship that there are indeed many genuine seekers and lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ and His word. We were further introduced to a couple of dynamic Christian workers, and more light dawned on us on how to carry out the burden we received from the Lord. We believe that as we go on in this way, the Lord will fully open the door all over NCR and the surrounding cities for His glorious testimony.

Today, the Lord also brought another young Christian worker whose parent I met in Jabalpur. Though we met the first time, our fellowship was so sweet and he opened up his burden and need, especially to be equipped with the truth. For about three hours we were fellowshipping, sharing testimonies, and ministering the word. He was also so impressed with the ministry of the word that he wanted to pursue and study the books and teach to his Bible students as well. He also recommended a Hindi translator and two other Christian leaders in Delhi and Jaipur respectively.

This is just the beginning of what the Lord is going to do in Gurugram, NCR, and North India. I could sense the breakthrough in North India with the ministry of the word for the testimony of Jesus. 

Lord, gain Gurugram and entire North India!

Fourfold Fellowship

Beginning this year, the Lord has burdened me to bring more saints into fellowship and function in the church life here in Gurugram. My personal burden and zeal for the Lord as an individual will lead the church nowhere. Though I can still function as the Lord has been burdening me for gospel preaching, home meetings, group meeting, shepherding etc..I must breakthrough in helping the saints to also pick up the same burden of practicing the God-ordained way, together in the Body of Christ as the church. Therefore, the Lord led me in encouraging the saints to actively participate in the church life besides the regular meetings on the Lord's day. 

Every Saturday, the church has a schedule for prayer meeting and gospel preaching. Until this year we have not been able to breakthrough in bringing the saints to active participation. But from this year, I encouraged, at least, the family of two responsible brothers to actively participate. For this, I made further arrangement for the family to be able to participate in a very practical way. My proposal was simple and enjoyable. I invited the two families to stay back for dinner every Saturday after the gospel preaching so that they need not worry about the meal after the whole afternoon schedule for the church life. As they stayed back for the lovefeast, I also proposed a group meeting where we pursued shepherding materials, fellowship, and then prayed together. By this way, we could enjoy four-fold fellowship: prayer meeting, gospel preaching, small group meeting and blending lovefeast.

Now practicing the God-ordained way is so sweet and enjoyable. Even the children are looking forward to it every weekend as they also enjoyed a time of playing and get together as their parents are also together. My wife and I are very happy to host the saints weekly for such a lovely fellowship. The Lord has blessed us with a big house where such meeting can be hosted, and He also has been blessing us with all that we need, even to share with the saints our kitchen and all the food items therein. Opening our hearts, opening our home, opening our kitchen for the church life has become a reality. In fact, I was a skeptic when I heard such declaration in the past by some brothers in the church meeting; now I am being graced to experience it in reality.

To me, this is just the beginning. Such fourfold fellowship should continue as long as the Lord grace us. Not only my family but also all the saints' families should be able to carry out this enjoyable church life. Though we may be few now, if all these few saints exercised the practical church life, there will be much enjoyment of the Christ in the church, which will issue in our blending and building up, which will further issue in everyone functioning, and then ultimately to the increase in the number of saints. First the increase in quality of the enjoyment of the church life, then the increase in the quantity of the saints in the church life.

It is the Lord mercy that I can adapt and practice this fourfold fellowship. The Lord just led us to do this, and may He grace us to go in this way as long as He pleases, all for the building up of the church, the Body of Christ.

Special Attendant

It was in a Christian leaders-and-pastors gathering at Ghaziabad on 15th January 2018 that as serving ones in the literature service, we introduced the ministry books with the burden that all Christians need to have a taste of the ministry as the ministry of the word is for all. Once we introduced the ministry books to the Christian leaders and exhibited them, a young brother who had undergone education in four master degrees came up to have a fellowship on the books and his feeling in general.

Among all the pastors and leaders gathered there, he probably must be the only one who was not, in reality, a pastor or leader, as the rest of them. But he seemed to be the most seeking among all. He expressed his joy at our announcing of the ministry literature and yet was dismayed by the response of the many so-called "leaders and pastors" who do not seem to appreciate the word of God. His case in point was that he had read Watchman Nee and was very blessed by it, and the pastors he saw were not very keen on Christian literature as he assumed that they should love the books much more than him. This is the hard fact: Not everyone loves the word of God, much less the writings of brother Watchman Nee or Witness Lee. Mostly according to my own personal experience, there are a just a handful of those who understood and tasted the depth and orthodoxy of the ministry of the word. By the Lord's mercy, I happened to be just one of them who have been blessed very much by the ministry of the word through the two brothers.

This brother visited us on the following weekend and we had a wonderful time of fellowship together. it so happened that our Bible reading portion that day was on Exodus 4 and 5 on the how God called Moses and the subjective signs of the experiences of the called ones. It was indeed a good time of fellowship and review on our service as God's called ones. I was freshly reminded of the God who called me and who would carry out the calling for which He called me for. 

And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a thornbush. And when he looked, there was the thornbush, burning with fire; but the thornbush was not consumed.
And Moses said, I must turn aside now and see this great sight, why the thornbush does not burn up. Exodus 3:2-3 

Our fellowship on the subjective signs of being called and sent by God in Exodus 4 was amazing. A brother and I spoke extensively in one accord and in one mouth, the significances of those signs, and how those need to be experienced. We are happy to acknowledge the source from which we have learned all these. Our speaking was an elaboration of the footnote in the Recovery Version of the Holy Bible.

In chapter 3 God gave Moses the sign of the thornbush (3:2-3). In this chapter God gave Moses three additional signs as evidence that he had truly been called and sent by God. The meaning of the first sign, the sign of the staff becoming a serpent (vv. 2-4), is that anything we rely on apart from God—our education, our occupation, etc.—is actually the hiding place of Satan, the usurping serpent. However, when at God’s word we throw it down and then take it up again “by the tail,” i.e., in the way opposite to the practice of the worldly people, using it for God’s purpose and not for ourselves, it becomes a staff of authority (vv. 4, 17; Luke 10:19). In the second sign, the sign of the hand becoming leprous (vv. 6-7), the bosom signifies what is within us, and leprosy signifies sin. This sign shows that our flesh is the embodiment of leprosy; in it there is nothing good, nothing but sin, corruption, and uncleanness (Rom. 7:17-18; cf. Isa. 6:5). Nevertheless, when we obey the Lord by keeping His word, His cleansing power is able to make us clean. The meaning of the third sign, the sign of the water becoming blood (v. 9), is that in the eyes of God all the earthly supply and worldly enjoyment (the water of the Nile) are nothing but death (blood). When they are poured out on that which produces life (the ground), immediately the death is exposed.

It also turned out that this young brother was also burdened to bring the ministry of the word to his native people in Odisha by offering himself to translate the ministry books to Oriya. Time will tell if this brother is today's Moses to bring the word of God to his people and deliver them from the bondage of religion. We prayed together before we dropped off our brother with a new assignment for translation only if he could pass the trial round. May the Lord gain him for His interest on earth among the Oriya speaking believers. 

To me, this meeting with this brother amidst the crowd of leaders and pastors was significant; he indeed was a special attendant.

Special Customer

A few days ago I received a desperate call from a customer who wanted to buy our spiritual books online but could not do so. In his desperate attempt, he ordered the books online but the purchase was not through. Perhaps, on further browsing our site, he must have gotten my number with which he contacted me over the phone. Once he explained his case over the phone that his transaction was through, I immediately realized he was indeed very desperately in need of books. Technically, I should have cross-checked all his claim of payment, but I simply took him at his word and decided to send him the books and requested him for the title of the books. Later, he texted me the list of books which I forwarded to the serving ones to send him immediately. For my burden is very clear: To give food at the proper time based on Mathew 24:45 Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his household to give them food at the proper time? My priority is not business at all, though we are a business entity set up for the distribution of the ministry of the word, my priority always is to supply spiritual food to saints and seekers and sinners too.

He was so touched by the way I handled the matter; he texted me back with words of thanks. He further went on asking me for more books. As he did so, I sensed that he is a genuine and desperate seeker of the truths. For such people is my service dedicated to. So I texted him to contact me anytime or even call me, basically giving him the freedom to freely contact me. Immediately after he saw my text message he called me.

We had about 18 minutes fellowship over the phone. He opened up his discouragement with the degraded Christianity; how he had been "church" hoping only to be left empty and thirsty. Somehow, he came across brother Watchman Nee's books and was so helped by it. Therefore, he could find us online at our site, and we got connected.

I fellowshipped with him the importance of seeing the Body of Christ as Saul of Tarsus saw in Acts 9; the Lord Christ, and the corporate Me (Christ), the church, the Body of Christ, with an overview of the epistles of Paul. I emphasized the Body of Christ again and again, as this truth has been so much ignored and neglected by many preachers today. I testified of how the Lord led me to see and know the Body through the book, The Normal Christian Church Life, by Watchman Nee and his co-worker, Witness Lee. I briefed him also the need to meet as the church according to the Bible, and how I myself was led in the scriptural way of meeting. Then, with an exhortation to love the Lord and pursue Him in the word, I prayed and promised to introduce him to the brothers and the church in Bangalore, where he is at the moment. Later, I introduced him to a brother in the church in Bangalore. 

May the Lord shepherd him into His flock.

This kind of customer is very rare. For sure this is a special customer for whom the Lord has placed me to serve in the literature service, in the ministry of the word.

First Baptism

A sister called me up and promised that she would bring a new one on thirty-first of last December, but she could not make it. She promised to come the previous two Lord's days, and still, she could not make it. And finally, she brought a new one last Wednesday. Though I was busy when they arrived, once I was ready I took no time to minister to him the word of God.

He seemed to have been prepared by the Lord in the past many years of his life. He heard and knew about Jesus Christ but something kept him away from being baptized. Though a young college student and a professional break dancer competing on an international championship with his own dancing institute, his heart was very open to the Lord Jesus Christ. I preached the gospel in detail concerning God and His creation of the universe and man, especially man with three parts-body, soul, and spirit. I elaborated on the sinfulness of man and his helplessness, the incarnation of God as a man in Jesus, the accomplishment of redemption, and the salvation man can receive by simply believing into Jesus Christ. After a short while of gospel preaching, he was all smile and very receptive. The next step, was to lead him to pray the sinner's prayer for salvation, which he did whole heartedly. Then, the Lord led me further to explain to him the need for baptsim with two very important spiritual significances; a confirmation of the inward believe and an identification with the death and resurrection of Christ. After ministering the truth using the Bible, he willing wanted to be baptised.

Mark 16:1616 He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned.

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16¹ To believe (see note 15³ in ch. 1) is to receive the Slave-Savior (John 1:12) not only for forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43) but also for regeneration (1 Pet. 1:21, 23). Those who thus believe become the children of God (John 1:12-13) and the members of Christ (Eph. 5:30) in an organic union with the Triune God (Matt. 28:19). To be baptized is to affirm this by being buried to terminate the old creation through the death of the Slave-Savior and by being raised up to be the new creation of God through the Slave-Savior's resurrection. Such a baptism is much more advanced than the baptism of repentance preached by John (1:4; Acts 19:3-5). To believe and to be so baptized are two parts of one complete step for receiving the full salvation of God. To be baptized without believing is merely an empty ritual; to believe without being baptized is to be saved only inwardly without an outward affirmation of the inward salvation. These two should go together. Moreover, water baptism should be accompanied by Spirit baptism, even as the children of Israel were baptized in the sea (water) and in the cloud (the Spirit) — 1 Cor. 10:2; 12:13.

To strengthen the truth presentation, we fellowshipped in detail on baptism presented in the book of Romans.

 6:3   Or are you ignorant that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

 6:4   We have been buried therefore with Him through baptism into His death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life.

 6:5   For if we have grown together with Him in the likeness of His death, indeed we will also be in the likeness of His resurrection,

 6:6   Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the 

body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves;

Immediately, I asked the serving brothers to make ready the baptism tub, and meanwhile we read through Matthew 1 with an emphasis on verses 21 and 23, on Jesus-Jehovah the Saviour, God becoming our Saviour, and Emmanuel-God with us.

Matthew 1:2121 And she will bear a ^ason, and you shall call His name ^1bJesus, for it is He who will ^csave His people from their sins.

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21¹ Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Joshua (Num. 13:16), which means Jehovah the Savior, or the salvation of Jehovah. Hence, Jesus is not only a man but Jehovah, and not only Jehovah but Jehovah becoming our salvation. Thus, He is our Savior. He is also our Joshua, the One who brings us into rest (Heb. 4:8; Matt. 11:28-29), which is Himself as the good land to us.
Matthew 1:2323 "Behold, the ^avirgin shall be with child and shall bear a ¹son, and they shall call His name ^2bEmmanuel'' (which is translated, ^cGod ³with us).

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23² Jesus was the name given by God, whereas Emmanuel, meaning God with us, was the name by which man called Him. Jesus the Savior is God with us. He is God, and He is also God incarnated to dwell among us (John 1:14). He is not only God but God with us.

After a wonderful time of preaching the gospel, ministering the truth, a home meeting Bible study, the new one was baptized! Praise the Lord! There must have been a great joy in heaven over one sinner repenting and who also got baptized!

Luke 15:7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner repenting than over ninety-nine righteous persons who have no need of repentance.

This is the Lord's blessing; our first baptism for the year 2018. Later, I encourage all the saints in Gurugram to have more of gospel preaching and shepherding, in season and out of season, weekly, monthly, and on and on, to fulfill the great commission the Lord has given to all His disciples:

Mathew 28:19  Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 

Coming Together

What then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 1 Corinthians 14:26  

Not abandoning our own assembling together, as the custom with some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:25  

Beginning this year again, the Lord has led us further in our practice of the church-life. The Lord's speaking through the ministry of the word in the Holy Word for Morning Revival confirms this burden. I personally was so touched by the two Bible verses above. These are the scriptural ways to meet, to enjoy the practical church life for the building up of the Body of Christ.

In fact, I have been burdened to invite at least one family to our home for lovefest and fellowship on a weekly basis; and the Lord has been faithfully fulfilling it too. In the first week, we have three families coming over for such a lovefeast fellowship. And with one family, we invited them to come every Saturday. The physical meeting and eating together may or may not build us up, but this definitely opens the door for more fellowship and building up. 

First of all, there must be the coming together, as a church, or even as a family, the more the better. Then the Lord will have a way to work in and among us. The coming together as a church, we have been trumpeting, and as a church, we are coming together more frequently now. At least, twice in a week; on Saturdays for the church prayer meeting and gospel preaching, on Lord's days for the bread breaking, prophesying, lovefeast, brothers and sisters fellowship, and young people meeting. Now, on the weekdays, we are also coming together for home meetings and group meetings.  

Last Lord's day, my wife and I were prophesying on this same burden; of coming together in homes, assembling together as the church, and not neglecting nor belittling these matters, as these are the practical ways in which we all can be built up together. We also exhorted all the saints for the practical church life. This year, we are burdened for a definite increase in the saints enjoyment of the Christian life and the church life. 

For this very reason, I went to a family regularly as much as possible though they are still stuck up in the denomination. My burden is that, at least, they can have some spiritual food through my visit. In fact, two families were shepherded in the home meeting and, I declare in faith that one day, the Lord will fully deliver them through the word of God to come fully into the practical church life which He has been preparing us now. Sometimes, the new ones are reluctant, but I have been doing my best to visit them, with the burden of shepherding.

Lord, bless our church-life of coming together and build us up together.

Fasting Prayer

Personally, I have been practicing fasting and prayer. I was also burdened to bring my fellow serving ones, my family members, and the saints into an intercessory prayer life. But I have been very cautious not to fall into religiosity. At the same, not neglecting fasting prayer with the excuse that is is "religious" as some may deem it to be.  Indeed, many religions have propagated this practice, and some are very serious about it in a religious way, but that does not mean we must not fast and pray. A person who hardly fast and pray, yet speak against fasting prayer as being religious is as if the devil speaking subtly to stop the saints from fasting prayer. Well, others may do it religiously, perhaps, superstitiously even, but we must not let this bogged us down and stop is from fasting and prayer. Instead, we must practice it, propagate it, and do it right.

This year, the Lord has led me to a more serious fasting and prayer. The day we chose is Tuesday. Initially, I also clubbed this with a home meeting and prayer. But, beginning this year, the Lord stripped off the meeting on that day, and released us fully for fasting and prayer. In fact, when the saints with whom we used to meet on Tuesdays came up with inconveniences in the place of meeting, I immediately reckoned it as the Lord's  speaking: He wants us to fully consecrate our time just for prayer. 

Now, my fellow serving ones in the literature service, and at least, my family members, are weekly beginning to fast and pray. This to me is a great blessing and a big breakthrough in our prayer life. Before, I was the only one to actively do it, now the Lord has given me companions who can bear the same burden. 

Besides, the Lord also granted us time of family morning revival and prayer in the morning, and family prayer time in the night before going to bed. This is another big breakthrough in our family time together and family prayer life. We all enjoyed this time together. We have ample time for fellowship and prayer to release all our burdens; praying for the saints, the churches, our family members, and some specific burdens. The Lord has blessed me with many burdens, now I have a way to release these burdens in prayer with my family. I don't bear the burden all alone anymore but with the family and as a family. 

Many of the prayers we have been praying are prayers of faith. By faith, we release our burden and wait for the Lord to answer all of them one by one. Prayer is our burden and responsibility, answering is the Lord's burden and responsibility. We simply pray according to the burden the Lord blessed us with, with much faith, reckoning they all have been answered.

May the Lord grace us to live a prayer life in oneness with Him for the fulfillment His divine purpose.

New Beginning

In fellowship, as the church, we hosted a Blending Lovefeast on the first day of this new year. Our burden was to invite all our contacts, gather them together, and introduce them to the church. The Lord blessed the time together. Though all the invited ones did not turn up, the Lord released those whom we need to shepherd.

The most important blessing we received was the coordination of the saints. The sisters came early in the morning to take care of the food preparation for lovefeast, and the brothers for the arrangement of the meeting hall and preparation of the meeting. Later, our guests came, family by family, one by one. 

The meeting was full of mutuality. Perhaps, this must have been the first of its kind seen and witnessed by the new ones. No special conductor, nor speaker, but everything was carried out in mutuality. A hymn was sung with a resounding "amen" and declaration of the lines, touched and enjoyed by the saints. Prayers were simultaneously offered by the saints. And few brothers shared the word of God with testimonies. And thus, concluding the meeting with prayer.

The lovefeast time was the time we met the new ones, talked to them, and fellowshipped with them. Everyone that I met with, were very happy that they could begin their new year with a wonderful fellowship on the word of God and prayer. A family immediately invited us to their home to begin a home fellowship on Thursday evening. The following Thursday we went and enjoyed a time of fellowship and prayer, and the next Thursday too. May the Lord preserve this family for His testimony in Gurgaon.

The whole day, all the saints were together and the Lord has been blending and building us up together. We have been hearing of "blending and building" many times; in truth, we are well acquainted with. But now, the Lord has been bringing us into the reality. Even the saints who are not very active in the church-life have a renewed understanding of what the church-life is and are becoming much more active in function. Some new ones came in the afternoon, and with them too we had a wonderful fellowship.

As the saints gathered for fellowshipped the Lord led us to fellowship on the practical church practices. All the saints consecrated for some basic items: to have a schedule for reading through the Bible in a  year with a  brother and sister volunteering to update the daily reading potion, to participate in the practice of the God-ordained way of being revived every morning, e-fellowshipping actively on social media via church's WhatsApp group, participating in the prayer meeting, gospel preaching, and shepherding of the church. 

Since then, the Lord has a new beginning in the church in Gurugram! Praise the Lord for the new beginning. What the Lord has begun, He will faithfully accomplish it in time.

Philippians 3:13-14 Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold; but one thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward. 

Faithful and Fruitful

Philippians 3:13-14 Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold; but one thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward. 

2017 has just passed, 2018 has just begun. No new year resolutions, for they are all useless, leading to self deception and and hypocrisy. No promises, for none can really fulfill any promise made. Not even religious consecration, for it is too superficial and event bound. 

The only difference of old and new year is, it is another day in another year. Instead of all physical and mental resolution, thank the Lord for His great mercy and faithfulness all these years, and look to Him for more grace to enjoy and gain Him this coming year. Do not make any special event for the turn of year, but simply look to the Lord for His grace to enjoy Him every day; ordinary days of originally enjoying Christ, experiencing Christ, gaining Christ, growing in Christ, and maturing in Christ. 

Forget the things behind-good or bad, success or failure. Stretch forward to gain Christ. In gaining Christ, I am burdened for faithfulness and fruitfulness. 

This is exactly what I am doing this new year. And my specific prayer is, Lord make me faithful by You being my faithfulness, I and make be fruitful by abiding in You to be my fruitfulness. 

John 15:8

In this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so you will become My disciples. 

Quantitatively, I have not been fruitful in terms of gaining people into the church life nor bringing sinners into salvation with water baptism. Though I have many contacts and contacted many sinners and preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, still the quantified remaining fruit has been so substantial and totally unsatisfactory. The burden the Lord imparted in this year is, faithfulness and fruitfulness. 

Matthew 24:45

Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his household to give them food at the proper time? 

This burden has been much strengthened in my time with the Lord. In fact, I have fellowshipped this burden to the saints and prayed over and over again; personally, corporately in our family prayer, and the church prayer. No longer to be passive observer, but to be properly aggressive in gaining building materials for God's building. 

This is no resolution nor promise nor consecration, but a burden from the Lord in the Body for the Body. 

The verse in John 5:8 touched me deeply. Fruit bearing is for the Father's glorification, for there is the multiplication of life. And fruit bearing also makes one a disciple of the Lord Jesus. Without fruit bearing, where then can be the glorification? For glory is God expressed, and and God wants to express Himself through His children begotten of Him by fruit bearing. Without fruit bearing, how can one be the Lord's disciple? For discipleship bears fruits. 

My prayer is, Lord, grace me to abide in You and bear much fruits, and that my fruits remain for Your multiplication and Your glorification. This burden is in unison with faithfulness in all what the Lord has bestowed upon me with Him as my faithfulness.