Evening Revival

City life has its own twists and turns in lifestyle. The most notable twist is that of timing. Reasons well known to the city dwellers, life is nocturnal. People work day and even late into the night; life is so busy in metro city that modern city lifestyle is today's version of the slavery system of the past. To shepherd new ones in the city, a way has to be adopted that suits them. That was what I just did.

Since last week I have been visiting a brother for an "evening revival". Though evening for me, to him it is his morning. For he works the whole night on USA shift and sleeps the whole day. Just for the sake of timing, shepherding cannot be nullified. One has to adapt himself to meet the need of the new ones. This has been a new experience to me. This also is good for me, and I deem it a blessing, as I can spend about half an hour every day after my office work to be refreshed all over again as was in the morning. Morning or evening, we need to be revived all the time.

My first meeting with him was a few years ago when he never believed into the Lord. Last year, we met again and that led him to his baptism. And this year I am meeting him again, for a normal Christian life for the church life. When I met him last month, he was into financial and marital issues. As we began the evening revival and started our regular corporate prayer, the Lord worked in his circumstances. Things took a positive turn and my brother's faith was very much strengthened. Our time together was pursuing the current HWMR and prayer. Our fellowship and relationship in the Lord became much sweeter. 

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until the full day. Proverbs 4:18

Our day begins with the dawn and goes on till dusk. As much as morning revival is necessary, so much the more, evening revival. Revival in the morning, revival throughout the day. Revival in the evening, and revival in the night. Yes, revival the whole day and night. That is the real revival.

May the Lord shepherd us and revive us day and night.

Shepherding Visitation

An invitation for visiting a brother came to me through my wife who has been praying with a sister. This particular brother was introduced to me many years ago when he stayed with a family I used to visit for shepherding and who now is shepherded into the church life. Since our first meeting, his main struggle was with faith in the word of God itself, which the Lord gradually clarified in due course. Now that he is married and has a son, things have become much better. His fundamental faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the word of God is firm, though he still has ups and downs as we all do. He and his family have been prayed for by my wife and another sister consistently.

It was last Friday night that a brother and I went to visit the family who came to visit his aunty. Our conversation began with the general human care of cherishing. I was led by the Lord to testify to him and his wife of my Christian life, family life, and church life: Christ must be the Head and He must have the first place in all things in the family life. The love between husband and wife must be the love of Christ operating in both. Only when Christ is given His rightful position in the family life that family life will be a normal and proper Christian family life.

On the nourishing side, the Lord burden me to lead them to pursue, "Calling Upon the Name of the Lord" together. We all pursue the truth concerning calling upon the name of the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord together. The family visit was an enjoyable one and a turning point in their Christian life, family life, and church life. They also fellowshipped to be in fellowship with the saints and the church in their locality, New Delhi, and also to have a regular phone call prayer with some brother and sister.

Though they had no intention to stay longer in Gurugram, they stayed over for the weekend, attended the prayer meeting on Saturday and also the Lord's Table Meeting on the Lord's day. The Lord is merciful to them as He is to all. The brother and sister also have decided to have a phone call prayer regular with a brother and sister. 

May the Lord shepherd His sheep into His flock.

Defense and Confirmation in India

The Lord has been blessing His testimony in India; through the propagation work of preaching the gospel and raising up local churches, through the free ministry literature distribution, and also through the promotion and distribution of the ministry of the word. This is the work of the Lord. As the Lord's work progresses through the ministry of the age, the enemy was stirred up. The sleeping Lion has been awakened and began to threaten us to thwart the Lord's work. But with full assurance I can declare in faith, "the enemy is the defeated foe". The more he raises up his ugly horns, the more the work of the Lord will progress until the consummation of the age. This reminds me of the Lord's word in Matthew 16:18:

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

The Lord Jesus Christ will build up His church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. (Full stop!)

In India too, as the Lord's move has been intensified we begin to experience the threatening and thwarting works of Satan. As throughout the history of the Lord's move all over the world, attacks came from the non-Christians and Christians alike in different flavor though. This time we received a very unprofessional attack on the ministry by a brother who barely read and understood what the ministry says or is. If the attacked were from a well-read and well-known person it could have had some weight at least on the truth side, but with this one, mentioning the Lord's recovery as an example or one of the groups of "cult" in India, my first impression was: this brother must either be spiritually blind or ignorantly misinformed. Anyway, spiritual warfare comes in different shapes and sizes. Sometimes, I wonder if it is worth taking it seriously. Yet for the sake of the truth and the Lord's testimony, I deem it right to give him a fitting reply. Perhaps, as defense and confirmation of the truth, for our learning and perfecting in bearing the Lord's testimony, and also to help the opposer see and know what the truth is as revealed in the Bible.

This first public attack came through a well-known Christian organization, whose founder is a reputed Christian preacher in India and he was not aware of such an attack which came from the organization he once founded, was more of surprise shock. Still, it is good for us,  brothers serving in the publication and propagation work of the Lord's recovery in India, as it blended us together more and prepared us to face such attacks, as this may not be the first nor the last one either. And this also ushered us into a sweeter and closer fellowship with the serving brothers of the Defense and Confirmation Project (DCP) in USA. We enjoyed a perfecting time of fellowship over Skype with the DCP brothers and we also learned how to defend the truth; an experience of the saints in Philippi with Paul.

Even as it is right for me to think this concerning you all because you have me in your heart, since both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel you are all fellow partakers with me of grace. Phillipians 1:7

Some portion of the reply concerning our attitude towards other believers in Christianity is worth mentioning. Our reply reads:

We understand your concern towards the change in attitude of those believers who were earlier meeting and serving with you. We are making sincere efforts to educate all the believers who are meeting as local churches in fellowship with us about the need to maintain a proper attitude towards fellow believers, which this ministry has always maintained and emphasized. The following quote from an elders’ training conducted in 1984 is just one sample among several such portions by Witness Lee.

“We not only love the Christians outside of us, but we also love all human beings….

We should never be sectarian, and we should always be open to all people. We should not only be open to all the Christians but also be open to all the unbelievers. Because we have received the Lord’s mercy and we are now a people bearing God’s testimony in His truth and in His life, we must learn to be open at all times to every Christian, teaching the truth and ministering the life supply to them…” 

He continued by advising the elders that when they meet other Christians, “Do not change your attitude, but still be open to them. Present the truth and minister life to them. Try not to consider, think, or feel that they are different from the saints who are with us, because they also are our fellow believers in Christ.” He charged the elders that “we should never try to proselytize Christians” from other groups but “we must always do our best, on the other hand, to preach the gospel, teach the truth, and minister life.” He concluded, “Let other Christians have their own choice regarding the matter of the church” (Elders’ Training, Book 4: Other Crucial Matters Concerning the Practice of the Lord’s Recovery). We quote this here to show that this ministry never advocates discrimination among believers, irrespective of whether they meet with us in a local church or not. We realize that in practice some may not have lived up to this standard, and it is our hope that we could work together with you to clear up any offenses that may have occurred.

On his lack of understanding what the author of the book says and immaturely coming to his own limited and biased conclusion ignorantly by picking a few phrases or lines out of context, our reply reads: 

We thank you for sharing your concern about the quotation you have cited from The History of the Church and the Local Churches, opening the doors for fellowship on this matter. We request you to examine the statement in its context, taking into consideration Witness Lee’s focus and burden in that portion. We believe that you will readily realize that what he is saying is that, believers should not stop with revivals, mission work, or study of the Bible, but should go on to fulfill God’s goal, God’s eternal purpose, which is to build up the Body of Christ. The foregoing paragraphs in that portion show that Witness Lee is neither disparaging revivals, mission work, or Bible study, nor discounting their need, but expressing the burden that all such revivals, mission works, and Bible study must be for the fulfilling of God’s eternal purpose, that is, the building up of the Body of Christ. We believe that you also would agree on this. We do not believe that you, or BYM, would want merely to do a mission work without aiming your labor to result in the building up of the Body of Christ. The following is a quote as a sample of Witness Lee’s appreciation of Christians in denominations and of his attitude towards the work of missionaries.

“We thank the Lord for sending the Western missionaries to China to bring us the gospel. They told people that Jesus is the Son of God who became a man and died on the cross for our sins. They said that if we believe in Him we would receive the forgiveness of our sins. We heard the proper preaching of Christ being our Savior. These missionaries also brought us the real name of Jesus Christ, and we treasured this. They also brought the Bible with them, providing us with one of the best Chinese translations of the Bible. We thank God for these three things: the gospel, the name of Jesus, and the Bible.” (The God-ordained way to Practice the New Testament Economy)

This experience is a perfect lesson for us to uphold the truth of the Bible. Officially as literature serving one, I was burdened to set by a miniature DCP for India for quite some time. Now, I believe the time has come. May the Lord grace us, train us, and perfect us for the defense and confirmation of the truth. 

Words of Warning

Words of Warning Against the Worldly Ways

These days in my village Keikhu the enemy seems to have been awakened as we have been strongly and regularly praying for the salvation of the entire village. As a family we are bearing this burden as the Lord blessed us with, therefore, every family praying at night we have been praying for the salvation of the entire village of Keikhu. Now that there are three groups of believers, the mainline Baptist and Catholics, and a few families of the saints in the Lord's recovery, the enemy seems to have injected an evil thought of corruption in the name of culture, tradition, and religion. 

I was informed that the brothers in my village who are in the church life were being asked to join hands with the ritualistic and traditional heathen practices of the village which were carried down from the forefathers who did not know the true and living God. This compromise came from the so-called mainline "churches." But the brothers were clear with the truths and stood firm against this evil infiltration. When a summon was made in the highest authority in the village, the brothers kept their faith and their stand for the purity of the truth. The village authority accepted the stand of the brothers.  I worship the Lord for this grace given to the few brothers. 

Few months later, due to the instigation of the enemy through religion, even Christianity as a religion, a re-evaluation of the previous decision made at the summoning was initiated, purportedly by a brother who is not clear with the truths of the Bible. When I was informed, I took it to the Lord in prayer not knowing how to respond. But today, the Lord impressed me strongly to bring out relevant Bible verses from both the old and the new testament to show how God has commanded us to be sanctified. Therefore, I composed a message, basically a collection of verses and notes and sent it to my family members, especially to those who are involved in the aforementioned matter. The message reads:  

Leviticus 18:1-3Then Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, I am Jehovah your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, in which you dwelt; and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, nor shall you walk in their statutes.

Footnotes from the Holy Bible, Recovery Version.

The Israelites’ not living in the manner of the Egyptians, among whom they once lived, signifies that the believers should put off, as regards their former old way of living, the old man (Eph. 4:22). The Israelites’ not living in the manner of the Canaanites, to whose land they were to be brought, signifies that, after being saved, the believers should not be conformed to the living and conduct of the worldly people (Rom. 12:2). The Israelites’ living a holy life according to God’s holiness (v. 4—20:27) signifies that the believers should put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the truth (Eph. 4:24).

Leviticus 20:23And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation, which I am about to send away before you. Because they did all these things, so I abhorred them.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18Do not become dissimilarly yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? And what concord does Christ have with Belial? Or what part does a believer have with an unbeliever? And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, even as God said, “I will dwell among them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” Therefore “come out from their midst and be separated, says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you”; “And I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty.”

These are words of warning against the worldly ways, that we may live a clean, holy, pure, and rejoicing life for the fulfillment of God's economy.

May the Lord sanctify and separate us for His pure and holy testimony.

Corporate Joshua

Joshua1:2 Moses My servant is dead; now then arise, and cross over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land which I am giving to them, to the children of Israel.1:3 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads I have given to you, as I promised Moses.1:6 Be strong and take courage, for you will cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give to them.1:7 Only be strong and very courageous, being certain to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you. Do not turn away from it to the right or to the left, that you may have success wherever you go.1:8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall muse upon it day and night so that you may be certain to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success. 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and take courage; do not be afraid or dismayed. For Jehovah your God is with you wherever you go.

The good land of the old promised to the Israelites is the all-inclusive Christ today. God had promised the good land and also granted the good land to the people of Israel already, yet they need to fight against the former inhabitants of the good land, drive them away, divide the good land among themselves, and possesses it to enjoy the riches of the good land flowing with milk and honey. 

Satan, the enemy of God, has been doing his utmost to hinder the people of God from enjoying Christ as the all-inclusive One; he will do whatever he can to keep us from enjoying Christ as the good land. To this day, evil forces are veiling the all-inclusiveness of Christ from God's people. 

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in those who are perishing, in whom the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers that the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 2 Corinthians 4:3-5

One of the foremost and notable veils is the subtle veil of religion. Besides, there are veils of philosophy, culture, natural life, the self, the flesh, the old man etc. Therefore, there is an exceeding great spiritual warfare in which we must engage; for these veils hinder the growth of the believes, and much more, hamper the building up of the organic Body of CChrist. Therefore, we need to be todays' Joshua and Caleb, fighting against and defeating the satanic forces so that we can gain more of Christ for the building uyp of the Body of Christ, for the fulfilment of God's eternal purpsoe.

The enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ also needs our fighting for it, yet to fight, we cannot do it by ourselves, we must do it corporately as the Body of Christ. Joshua was merely the deputy authority God had ordained to literally fight for, conquer, and possess the good land. He did not do it by himself but as a corporate Joshua, with all the children of Israel. Today, the same principle holds. We must fight as a corporate Joshua to possess and enjoy the all-inclusive Christ, our Good Land.

In order to possess the good land and defeat the satanic forces, we need to be formed into a corporate Joshua. As the good land, Christ is ready to be taken and possess by us; however, there is a need for us to fight the battle to take Christ and possess as our good land. In one accord and in oneness, Joshua and the children of Israel stood together to fight to possess the good land. In fact, Israel had become a corporate Joshua, chosen, called, redeemed, saved, trained, prepared, and qualified by God, ready to go on with God as one to take the land of Canaan. Similarly, to gain the all-inclusive Christ, we need to be a corporate Joshua, fighting the battle, taking the land, and enjoying Christ as our inheritance. After being formed, constituted, disciplined, trained, and qualified, God's people had come to the plains of Moab, where they were waiting to enter into the good land, to take it, and to possess it. This formation of the children of Israel into an army for God typifies the New Testament believers' being built up into the organic Body of Christ to fight for the carrying out of His economy. As a result, God's army, a corporate Joshua, was prepared and ready to take the good land under the blessing of God.

This burden was released in the last Pillars Training held for the saints in the churches in NCR. The Lord's speaking impressed me so deeply with the burden He has released for the churches. For my Christian life and for the church life to enjoy the all-inclusive Christ I need to fight a spiritual battle with the saints as the Body of Christ as a corporate Joshua. This is the timely need in the ongoing spiritual warfare.  

Finally, be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil, for our wrestling is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies. Ephesians 6:10-12

Strange Fire

All saved believers are today's New Testament priests to serve God. This is the universality of the priesthood, a blessing that saints of the Old Testament did not have. Nevertheless, in serving the Lord, there is a danger of serving according to our natural goodness, even serving the Lord in the flesh making use of all our natural talents and gifts which comes from God. On the one hand, we all must serve the Lord, yet on the other hand, we must not serve in our natural man, we must serve in the spirit by the Spirit of God according to God's ordination. The source of our service must be God, and the way we serve must be according to God, and the goal of our service must be to the glory of God.

Last week, I was so deeply touched by the prohibitions in serving God. I cannot and must not serve God with strange fire. The fire I use must be from God that came through the altar of burnt offering. Any fire not from God as the source is a strange fire; any service that I render as a priest to God yet not our from God is a strange fire. I cannot serve God with my natural zeal and enthusiasm. I must be burning in spirit, serving the Lord. If not, all my service is a service in the principle of strange fire.

Do not be slothful in zeal, but be burning in spirit, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11

As I prophesied and also gave the conclusion of the message on, The Basis of All Our Priestly Service—the Fire from the Altar of Burnt Offering, one of the burdens I released was on these verses:

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in them and laid incense on it, and they presented strange fire before Jehovah, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from before Jehovah and consumed them, and they died before Jehovah. Leviticus 10:1-2  

Then Jehovah spoke to Aaron, saying, Drink no wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the Tent of Meeting, that you may not die; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, both to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean; Leviticus 10:8-10  

What struck me most in this portion of the word is God's speaking directly to Aron on the prohibition of strange fire, "Drink no wine or strong drink." This implies that the offering of strange fire has a connection with wine or strong drink. The ministry portion below enlightened me to see clearly the relationship between strange fire and strong drink.

The offering of the strange fire might have been related to the drinking of wine. Right after Nadab and Abihu’s death, God charged the priests not to drink wine [Lev. 10:8-9].…Drinking wine, in the Bible, signifies the over enjoyment of the worldly, natural, or physical, material things. In other words, if we overly enjoy anything of this world, this always makes us drunk. When we are drunk, we are excited and out of control, doing things without regulation. It might have been that the two sons of Aaron were drunk, so they were excited and went beyond themselves to do something without being regulated. This means that they offered strange fire in a presumptuous way. The  offering of strange fire was a sin of presumption. They presumed to do something for God. Actually, that was not a real offering to God but something of their presumption against God’s regulation.

People do presumptuous things because they have overenjoyed something. They are drunk. When the priests are drunk, they lose the discernment of holiness (Lev. 10:10), and they are unable to teach God’s people (v. 11). When we lose our discernment because we are drunk, we are not being regulated; so we surely cannot teach others so that they can be regulated. (CWWL,1979,vol. 2, “Basic Lessons on Service,”pp. 106-109)

The Lord's speaking was so timely; for me and also for the saints in the local church in Gurugram. This message also enlightened our understanding of the word of God through the help of the ministry of the word. Besides, our experiences confirmed the point of truth. Praise the Lord for the ministry of the word!

Lord, save me from offering any strange fire. Lord, save me also from wine and strong drink. Lord, may my priestly service to You be according to your divine ordination.

A Seeking Sister

About three years ago, a new sister was introduced by two of our sisters in the church. We used to visit that seeking sister in her shoe showroom in Galaria Market at DLF-IV, once a week for an hour of home meeting with her. Later, she shifted out of Gurgaon and did work on a few other businesses. I have never met her again since she changed business. But the few home meetings we had and the ministry of the word ministered to her had a deep impact on her Christian life.

Last week I received a call from a sister about this sister informing me of how she prayed and searched the scriptures to find answers to many of her questions concerning her Christian life and her church life. One day, a sister happened to meet her and she fellowshipped what she had been going through. Then I was informed of a possible visitation for a fellowship to which I oblige immediately.

She came to visit me along with the same two sisters with whom I used to visit her for a home meeting. As the case mostly is, I allowed her to release whatever she had within her being. For about an hour she narrated her struggle with the truths of the Bible as many Christians and groups she knows are not in line with what the Bible says. She also has a doubt on baptism itself as she was baptised during her childhood by sprinkling, and she also fellowshipped her understanding of the law, the ten commandments. Her fellowship gave me the ground and point of truths to fellowship. 

Using the Bible, I led her through the main verses concerning baptism and its significances, asking her to read all the Bible verses quoted. Then I expounded the important points on baptism being the fulfilment of God's righteous requirement, the outward confirmation of one's inward belief, the identification with the death and resurrection of Christ, the organic union with the Triune God, the open declaration and testimony of being a Christian, the spiritual transfer from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God, and the baptism into the Body of Christ. I further expounded the timing and examples of baptism in the Bible and encouraged her to consider all these points of truths, pray and make her own decision.

Using the Bible, I also led her to see what the church is in her universal and local aspect, how the local churches were formed and established, and how we are a part of the church and meets as the church wherever the Lord has placed us. I also fellowshipped on the fulfilment of the ten commandments by Christ and how He has replaced the law with Himself as the law of the Spirit of life, and how we practically fulfil the law by living and working according to the Spirit. Later, I invited the sisters to attend the group meeting in one of the homes in Gurugram. The Lord's arrangement was such that the topic at the group meeting was on "What Are We," and we fellowshipped at length on the church and the beliefs and practices of the local the churches. The Lord was sovereign in His arrangment to shepherd a seeking sister.

May the Lord fully recover her and all the saints who are being gained into the church life for the Lord's testimony.

Sister's Short Sojourn

One of our sisters' sojourn on this earth came to an abrupt end last week. We were all taken aback by this surprise sad news that took us all by storm. Initially, it was hard to believe it. But she was no more. The church has lost one sister.

When I was informed of the matter, it came as a shocked reminder of what kind of life I should be living on the earth before my end day came too. Our sister had been very vibrant in life; she took care of her health, diet, physical exercise etc., and was from the upper-middle-class segment of society. Yet when the time for her departure came, she had to leave. God had already number her days and she was taken in due time. The real cause of her demise maybe attributed to heart attack, but the fact that it came so sudden and so soon was what surprised everybody. 

Our sister used to volunteer herself for the literature service in translating hymns and ministry books for a few years. She had a generous heart of taking care of the saints and the church in material offerings. She also loved cooking North Indian food and used to bring her potion for the Lord's day lovefeast. She is well remembered by many saints as one who provides good and tasty food to the saints.

Though as the church we are ready for her burial, funeral, and memorial service, we rather obliged to her family's preferences and participated in whatever the family did. We respect the family's wish, especially of her husband's and children's; they wanted her to be cremated in an electric cremation centre at Delhi. We did not insist on any of our opinions and followed whatever they arranged. We participated in the cremation and prayed for the family she left behind. We also participated in the memorial day service and prayed for the family. Within our capacity, we did our best to help and participate in all the activities which we felt peaceful about.

As we considered and fellowshipped concerning our sister's sudden demise, we all felt the urgency for our need to grow in life and gain Christ. Once the time appointed by the Lord comes, the same fate will be with all. Until that time, we must use every opportunity to love the Lord, pursue Him, gain Him, and grow up unto maturity. The only thing that will count before the Lord is how much of Christ is formed in us during the lifespan the Lord has blessed us. We take this as an instant reminder for the church as a whole to love the Lord, pursue the Lord, and gain the Lord. 

May Christ be formed in us during our short sojourn on this earth. May our sister's short sojourn be a reminder to all of us to pursue Christ.

My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you. Galatians 4:19  

The Jubilee

What touched me most and what I enjoyed most in the recent summer training on the book of Leviticus is on "the jubilee." The truth concerning the jubilee is profound and truly unfathomable. The experience of the jubilee has begun from the day of one's salvation and has been going on and on. 

This time too, I need to design an official calendar for 2019. I had been waiting and praying for the perfect theme until one day in my time with the Lord, the Lord impressed me with the jubilee and the need to experience the jubilee all the days of our Christian lives in all the churches in India. I begin to study and revisit the messages on the jubilee.

After revisiting the truth on the jubilee with the Bible references and ministry materials, the following verses with footnotes were chosen from the Holy Bible, Recovery Version.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to announce the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away in release those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of jubilee.” Luke 4:18-19 

Note on “acceptable year”: The New Testament age, typified by the year of jubilee (Lev. 25:8-17). The New Testament age would be the time when God would accept the returned captives of sin (Isa. 49:8; 2 Cor. 6:2) and when those oppressed under the bondage of sin would enjoy the release of God's salvation and keep the New Testament jubilee.

And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. Leviticus  25:10 

Notes on “the fiftieth year”: That the jubilee was in the fiftieth year (vv. 10-11) signifies that the full responsibility (typified by the number fifty) to meet all the requirements of God has been fulfilled so that man does not need to bear any responsibility. Fifty years also signifies the entire course of fallen human life. Thus, the year of jubilee, the fiftieth year, signifies the conclusion of our fallen human life.

 

The year of jubilee is the acceptable year of the Lord prophesied in Isa. 61:1-2 and fulfilled by the Lord’s coming in Luke 4:16-22. In the Old Testament type the jubilee lasted for one year, but in the fulfillment it refers to the entire New Testament age, the age of grace, as the time when God accepts the returned captives of sin (Isa. 49:8; Luke 15:17-24; 2 Cor. 6:2) and when those oppressed under the bondage of sin enjoy the release of God’s salvation (Rom. 7:14—8:2). The believers’ enjoyment of the jubilee in the age of grace, i.e., their enjoyment of Christ as God’s grace to them, will issue in the full enjoyment of the jubilee in the millennium and in the fullest enjoyment in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth.

Then you shall sound aloud the ram’s horn in the seventh month on the tenth day of the month; on the Day of Expiation you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. Leviticus 25 :9 

Note on "Day of Expiation": The sounding of the ram’s horn in the forty-ninth year on the Day of Expiation signifies that the jubilee is based on the expiation for sin, that the full liberty might be proclaimed to all the people (v. 10). This type was fulfilled by the full redemption of Christ as the basis for the proclamation of the full freedom to all the human race (cf. Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47).

Note on “jubilee” in 10: Perhaps related to the word ram; meaning a time of shouting, or a time of the trumpeting of the ram’s horn. The trumpeting of the ram’s horn signifies the preaching of the gospel as the proclaiming of liberty in the New Testament jubilee to all the sinners sold under sin (Luke 4:18-19; Acts 26:17b-18) that they may return to God and God’s family and may rejoice with shouting in the enjoyment of God’s salvation.

The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; you shall not sow nor reap its aftergrowth nor gather from its unpruned vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its produce out of the field. In this year of jubilee each one of you shall return to his possession. Leviticus  25:11-13 

Note on "possession": In the year of jubilee everyone who had sold his possession, his allotted portion of the good land, was returned to it without paying anything to redeem it (vv. 10, 13, 28), and everyone who had sold himself into slavery regained his freedom and returned to his family (vv. 39-41). Returning to one’s possession and being freed and returning to one’s family signify that in the New Testament jubilee the believers have returned to God as their lost divine possession, have been released from all bondage, and have returned to the church as their divine family.

To open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me. Acts 26:18 

Note on "open theri eyes": This was to carry out the fulfillment of God's jubilee, the acceptable year of the Lord, proclaimed by the Lord Jesus in Luke 4:18-21 (see note 19¹ in Luke 4) according to God's New Testament economy. The first item of the spiritual and divine blessings of the New Testament jubilee, which are the blessings of the gospel of God, is to open the eyes of those who are fallen and turn them from darkness to light, that they may see the divine things in the spiritual realm. To see these things requires spiritual sight and divine light.

Note on "inheritance":  Lit., a portion; referring to a portion of an inheritance. This inheritance is the Triune God Himself with all He has, all He has done, and all He will do for His redeemed people. The Triune God is embodied in the all-inclusive Christ (Col. 2:9), who is the portion allotted to the saints as their inheritance (Col. 1:12). The Holy Spirit, who has been given to the saints, is the foretaste, the pledge, and the guarantee of this divine inheritance (Rom. 8:23; Eph. 1:14), which we are sharing and enjoying today as a foretaste in God's New Testament jubilee, and which we will enjoy in full in the coming age and for eternity (1 Pet. 1:4). In the type of the jubilee in Lev. 25:8-13, the main blessings are the liberty proclaimed and the returning of every man to his own possession. In the fulfillment of the jubilee here, liberation from the authority of darkness and the receiving of the divine inheritance are the primary blessings (cf. note 32³ in ch. 20).

For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:2   

Note on "the law of the Spirit of life": The law of the Spirit of life is the subject of this chapter. The Spirit and life are mentioned in this verse, but only in connection with the working of this law. Life is the content and issue of the Spirit, and the Spirit is the ultimate and consummate manifestation of the Triune God after His being processed through incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection and becoming the indwelling, life-giving Spirit, who is life to all the believers in Christ. The law that has freed us from the law of sin, which is of Satan, who dwells in the members of our fallen body (Rom. 7:23, 17), is of this Spirit of life. It is this law, not God nor the Spirit, that works in us to deliver us from the working of the law of sin in our flesh and to enable us to know God and gain God and thereby live Him out. This law of the Spirit of life is the spontaneous power of the Spirit of life. Such a spontaneous law works automatically under the condition that fulfills its requirements (see note 4²). 

Both Satan and God, after entering into our being and dwelling in us, work within us not by outward, objective activities but by an inward, subjective law. The working of the law of the Spirit of life is the working of the processed Triune God in our spirit; this is also the working of the Triune God in us in His life.

The spiritual life revealed in this chapter is fourfold. First, it was the divine life in the Spirit (v. 2). Second, it became life in our spirit through regeneration (v. 10). Then from our spirit it saturates our mind for the transformation of our soul, to which our mind belongs, and becomes the life in our soul (v. 6). Eventually, it will permeate our body and become the life in our body (v. 11), ultimately issuing in the transfiguration of our body (Phil. 3:21), that is, the redemption of our body (v. 23).

The major function of the processed Triune God in indwelling our spirit as the law of the Spirit of life is to free us completely from Satan, who dwells in our fallen nature as the law of sin and of death (7:23-25). This freeing is not only for our subjective justification but even more for our dispositional sanctification.

The calendar was designed with these Bible verses and notes and was thus approved by the brothers as well. Later, it came to my notice that the burden these days is on the experience of jubilee in our Christian life and church-life. The young working saints just had their training on "the jubilee". And the saints in India will be displaying on their walls as a reminder to be in the jubilee. The year 2019 will indeed be a year of jubilee; the return of the captives of sin (Isa. 49:8; 2 Cor. 6:2) to God, and those oppressed under the bondage of sin would enjoy the release of God's salvation and keep the New Testament jubilee. 

Corporate Managment

Since the time the Lord called me to serve full-time I have always been holding the view that I should simple serve as a slave, even a faithful and prudent slave, without any opinion and with all simplicity. The Lord's arrangement in my service is such that I have to serve in the literature service which is legally registered to the government of India and formally set up as a corporate office. I never had any intention to serve in a way of exercising authority or carrying out administrative management. But the service I am assigned to is such that I cannot avoid corporate management. It's no longer a choice, but a must. I wish that someone else can do all the administrative works and I simply follow in obedience what was instructed to me. Now the case is, I am assigned to be that "someone" though not alone, I cannot escape this assignment. I have been praying for wisdom that the Lord be my Head and my wisdom in every corporate affair of the company.

The past two weeks had been filled with fellowship and making a corporate official decision concerning many "company affairs." A brother and I would sit and fellowship for hours on the situation of the serving ones and many official matters. It was a good time of learning from one another how to handle persons, matters and things. At times, we had to take hard and difficult decisions and deny my personal opinion. Even in this way, the Lord is training and perfecting me. By serving in this way of corporate management I am serving Him too.

This is one of the main reasons why I decided to pray specifically for my service the Lord has blessed me with. To pray for wisdom and understanding and take Christ as my wisdom and head. I know no other way nor better way than asking God for wisdom and understanding and taking Christ as my wisdom and understanding in corporate management.

1 Kings3:7 And now, O Jehovah my God, You have made Your servant king in the place of David my father, though I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.3:8 And Your servant is in the midst of Your people, whom You have chosen, a vast people that cannot be numbered or counted for multitude.3:9 Give therefore to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?3:11 And God said to him, Because you have asked for this matter and have not asked for long life for yourself and have not asked for riches for yourself and have not asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for discernment for yourself to understand justice;3:12 I now do according to your words. I now give you a heart of wisdom and understanding, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor will one rise up after you like you.3:13 And I also give you that for which you did not ask, both riches and glory, so that there will be no one among kings like you all your days.
4:28 And they also brought to the place where it should be, barley and straw for the horses and steeds, each according to his charge.4:29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and very much understanding and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore.4:30 And Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the children of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.

All services are for the Lord and to the Lord. The best way to serve in any service is to serve by taking Christ as our wisdom, understanding and discernment, and looking up to Him as the Counselor, Advocate, and Judge.

In His Mercy

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together with Him and seated us together with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, that He might display in the ages to come the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-6

Note on "mercy" from the Recovery Version

The object of love should be in a lovable condition, but the object of mercy is always in a pitiful situation. Hence, God's mercy reaches farther than His love. God loves us because we are the object of His selection. But because of our fall we became pitiful, even dead in our offenses and sins; therefore, we need God's mercy. Because of His great love, God is rich in mercy to save us out of our wretched position into a condition that is suitable for His love.

These days my subjective spiritual experience of God is that He is a God of mercy and I have been enjoying His mercy. I have come to a realisation, and it has been made more firm, that I am at His mercy. For reasons well known or unknown, one thing is sure, God is a merciful God and I am at His mercy. I have come to know of myself too well; my shortages, my weaknesses, my failures, my sins, my worldliness, my naturalness, and the list goes on... I am deeply convinced of my true condition and I can identify myself with Paul in his experience in Romans 7:24 "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?."

The Lord is sovereign in His shepherding that he exposes who I am, to humble me and let me know that without Him and His mercy I am nobody and I am nowhere. The divine light shining and the divine hand touching me proves to me all the more that I am nobody and I am nothing without Him and His mercy. All these weeks, day by day, the exposing and touching of the Lord is painful yet good for me. I no longer dare to think or speak or behave haughtily, or even with a little bit of pride or boasting. 

Once when I was much younger in the Lord and was burning for the Lord I used to condemn every slightest mistake, propagating the perfection of Christ. And such action, instead of shepherding and building up new believers, they shattered and turned back the new believers. Many years have elapsed since then, and many spiritual lessons learned. Now by His mercy, I can only thank the Lord for His mercy; I am at the helm of His mercy.

When I have been exposed to such an extent, I don't even deserve God's grace, theoretically speaking, I need His mercy instead; His mercy reaches further than grace. I am glad that the Lord taught me this important lesson of life. I believe this lesson will remind me unto eternity that He is a God of mercy, I am such a wretched man, and that I am what I am, not merely by His grace, but mostly because of His mercy. Therefore, I even deem it best to cling to the phrase literally, "in His mercy".

Yes Lord, in Your mercy, I am what I am. Ever preserve me in Your mercy from now and unto eternity.

Witness Lee: My Brother and My Teacher

In my recent trip to the USA to attend a summer training, I purchased a book titled, "A Memorial Biography of Brother Witness Lee." This is the first time I got hold of a book which has more detail account of the life and ministry of brother Witness Lee. The first time I heard about him was when I was a student way back in 2001. A rumour about him was being spread as a warning to the students to be aware of as his ministry was falsely dubbed as "cultic." It didn't bother me much then. But when my thirst and hunger for the truth concerning Christ and the church could not be quenched by any books or ministries that I knew of then, I turned to the Lord in desperate prayer to answer my quests. It was then that the Lord introduced me to a brother who introduced the books by brother Watchman Nee. Then to a group of brothers who were meeting as the local church in Chennai and were also pursuing the books by both brother Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. That's when I came to hear more about brother Witness Lee.

Because of the accusation already going on in the campus and online, I was very sceptical about brother Lee. One day a brother took me to the Gospel Book Room in Chennai. I was very interested in Christian literature that I purchased all the Indian print books available then in the book room. I was grace with some 30% discount for the box of books I purchased as a student, both of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. But I hardly read the books by brother Lee due to the obvious reason of false accusation already blinding me. The Lord was sovereign, and He still is, leading me to find it for myself first-hand if the accusations against brother Witness Lee were indeed true or not. It began in this manner...

One night I could not sleep. I didn't know why, then. As I gazed at my bookshelf, I was attracted by the title of a book, "The All inclusive Christ." I picked it out and randomly flipped open to a page where there was an exposition of the good land on "The Mountains and the Hills," from Chapter Seven, The Goodness of the land--Its Unsearchable Riches. I simply could not believe my eyes that I read such a portion explaining my situation of ups and downs. I was so supplied by the Lord's speaking through that book. Never in my life had I felt such life supply by reading a Christian book. I was then full of joy to read on and on, which I did in the following days until I finished the entire book. That was the first book I read of brother Lee, and since then I began to read many other books, one by one. 

I received so much life supply by the pursuit of the ministry books by brother Nee and Lee till today. I thank the Lord that there are brothers who had the Lord's anointing from whom I can receive the Lord's life supply, in the principle of incarnation. This is one of the channels through which I received the life supply of God. I also received the Lord's supply directly from the Lord Himself and also through some other fellow believers. Now looking back I realised that Satan was trying to stop me from receiving the Lord's life supply through brother Witness Lee's ministry. For this ministry is really focussed on helping the believers grow in life and be built up as the church, the Body of Christ.

Till date, I could not keep count of how many books I have read, studied, and enjoyed of the books by brother Witness Lee. There definitely is a life-supply in the ministry of brother Lee. And I am one of the many beneficiaries of this ministry. I never met him personally, I only read and enjoyed his portion in the Body as a minister of the word and of the age. And I will continue to enjoy what the Lord apportioned to him for the entire Body. Despite some opposers subtly trying to defame him and stop his ministry of the word to be enjoyed by the believers, my testimony is, I receive so much life-supply from brother Lee. Whatever opposer may say, my testimony is true: Since I read the ministry books by brother Witness Lee, my love for the Lord Jesus Christ grows all the more, my enjoyment and experience of Christ grows all the more, and I believe, I am also growing in the Lord a lot more than before.

I do not belittle any other Christian ministers and authors too, but I have not come across a minister that ministers life so richly and helps me in my Christian life for the church life as brother Witness Lee does. If anyone can recommend any minister or author, I would love to try them out too. Therefore, despite the Satanic forces of trying to defame and accuse brother Witness Lee, I testify to all men as before God, that brother Witness Lee is my dear brother in the Lord, though he had gone to be with the Lord, his ministry still speaks, and he is my teacher too. I thank the Lord for such a brother in the Lord who helps me see, know, enjoy, and live Christ for the building up of the church, the Body of Christ.

Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for Your bondslave, brother Witness Lee!