Speak God’s Word

Today morning the Lord spoke to me about speaking His word boldly by being filled with the Holy Spirit. In fact, today is also the day I was invited to speak God's word in a brother's wedding meeting. Though I had the Bible verses that I am burdened to speak on, the Lord gave me a fresh word to speak today in my time with Him today morning.

“And when they had so besought, the place in which they were gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31, RecVer)

The Lord’s word gave me such boldness that I could exercise to minister the word boldly in a brother's wedding. I am also very aware of the fact that the crowd in the wedding meeting is a mixed crowd of believers and unbelievers, and even among the believers, from various denominations. Therefore, the Lord gave me what to speak to meet the need of all the audience.

As I prepared for the message, the Lord gave me the key burden to release: What is the meaning of life? And to answer this question, there are eight crucial truths which I expounded point by point. Who is God? Who is man? Who is Satan? Who is Jesus Christ? What is the church? Who are the overcomers? What is the millennium kingdom? And what is the New Jerusalem?

By answering these eight questions, I answered the main question on what is the meaning of human life. Then, I shared a few words about loving the Lord Jesus Christ first in our married life and exercising to be one with the Lord and with one another in every aspect of our Christian married life so as to live a normal Christian life.

The key Bible verses read in the meeting are below.

God's Plan
And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. And God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26-28, RecVer)

“And Jehovah God said, It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper as his counterpart.” (Genesis 2:18, RecVer)

Believe on the Lord Jesus
And leading them outside, he said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.(Acts 16:30-31, RecVer) 

Christ and the Church
Being subject to one another in the fear of Christ: Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord; For a husband is head of the wife as also Christ is Head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the Body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also let the wives be subject to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish. In the same way the husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his own wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ also the church, Because we are members of His Body. For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. This mystery is great, but I speak with regard to Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:21-32, RecVer) 

Overcomer

“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death.” (Revelation of John 12:11, RecVer)
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! (Revelation of John 22:17a, RecVer)
“He who testifies these things says, Yes, I come quickly. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.” (Revelation of John 22:20-21, RecVer)

I do believe that the word spoken in faith will bear fruit one day. I also believe that this is the beginning of many years of prayers being answered by God for the salvation of the unbelieving Rongmeis from the brothers' side whose relatives are all yet to be believers and also the recovery of the proper church life from the sisters' side whose relatives are all Christians. One day, I will witness the full result of prayers answered!

Lord, may Your word bear forth fruits in Your way and in Your time. 

A Home in a House

Houses are made of materials designed and built by men whereas homes are made of people, built and blessed by God! A house may not be a home even to the dweller nor a home may not necessarily be a house. Houses are inorganic, physical, and materialistic while homes are organic, and comprise living people. A beautiful house never guarantees a beautiful home, but a beautiful home surely guarantees a beautiful house. People are more attracted to the houses today than the homes that should be in the houses. Only when people living in the house are happy, can there be a "home sweet home." Such is the home that one has to look for and long for.

Yesterday, an old classmate of mine posted a series of photos of his newly constructed beautiful house in the group. Many have immediately appreciated the beauty of the architectural design and its finishing. But what came into my mind first was the need for a homely environment in that beautiful house. In congratulating him on his newly constructed house I also send a note that I felt most genuinely as a message to all:

Congrats D___! Beautiful house! 

Wishing you and your family a blessed home in this beautiful house.

Houses are made of materials designed by men but homes are made of people blessed by God!

A Note of Exhortation

A beautiful home is where the family dwells in oneness and harmony (Ps. 133); where love prevails (1 Cor. 13); and righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17) reigns in every member of the family. In fact, such a family is only of God where Christ makes His home in the hearts of all (Eph. 3:17). 

May God bless you D___; your home and your house.

I for sure cannot say that I have a beautiful house as all my life I have been living in a nominal house; in my grand parent's house, or in my uncle's house, or in a hostel, and now in a rented house. To put it more plainly, I have never owned a house of my own, much less a beautiful one architecturally. The rented house my family now lives in is perhaps one of the oldest buildings in the community, and perhaps, a not-so-good-looking house in design or in construction quality for I have had many issues with the quality of the house construction.

Nonetheless, my family finds a home in this house. All my children are so happy living in this house. And many saints and relatives have also come to stay in this house. Despite its old looking outwardly, inside is full of brotherly love. In spite of an old building with furniture, doors, and windows, all broken up due to oldness, still, we all have been living happily in this house. Oftentimes, I test my children if we should shift to a better house elsewhere within the same rentals, but none of them ever agreed. They don't care for the house itself, they care for the lovely and peaceful atmosphere in the house. We have a home in this house!

Indeed, the Lord's presence has been the greatest blessing in this house which makes us feel at home. In fact, we all find a home in this house. Though it is a rented house, I have been living in and managing the house as though it is mine. I have been paying the rent regularly for over a decade now, but still, I never had the feeling that I am a stranger in this house. I feel very much at home so do all my family members. It is the Lord's blessing that brings love, peace, and joy to this house making it our home for now. I have no idea how long we have to be in this house, but as long as the Lord leads us to stay here we will follow the Lord's leading. Having said this, I am willing to follow the Lord's leading. Should He need us to move to another house, I will, it all depends on His leading.  But the fact is, we do have a home in this house and we all enjoy our home in this house.

In fact, as a family, we pray regularly for the Lord to bless us to be a godly family; a home of prayer, a home of fellowship, a home of the word of God, a home where many can know, believe and receive Christ. And a home where our family is a living testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Lord, bless our home to be a home sweet home with Christ as our Head and Christ who is all in all, in all of us.

Heart Disease

Heart attack has become one of the common problems among many people today despite their intelligence and wealth. In fact, a heart attack seems to be common among the higher echelon of society among the educated elite, the rich, and the intelligent. This seems to have become a rich's man disease. This reminds me of my neighbor who had been doing so well in life, even in physical health, who used to take regular exercises and maintain a strict diet, still, one day, got a heart attack and died. Heart disease is a serious problem. So is the psychological heart, the heart mentioned in the Bible.

In the recent training I attended, I was so enlightened to see the seriousness of my heart condition. Solomon had a serious heart problem and so are many children of God today. Delving deep into the life of Solomon and analyzing his case in depth, he had a very good beginning. God appeared to him twice, a very rare condition among the people of God in the Old Testament. What a good beginning!

1K 3:5 In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, Ask what I should give you.

1K 3:6 And Solomon said, You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth and righteousness and in uprightness of heart with You; and You have kept for him this great lovingkindness and have given him a son to sit upon his throne, as it is this day.

1K 3:7 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.

1K 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.

1K 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?

1K 3:10 And this word seemed good in the sight of the Lord, that Solomon had asked for this matter.

1K 9:2 Jehovah appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.

In His first appearing to him, he had asked for wisdom and God indeed gave him wisdom and understanding that no man ever had. With this wisdom from God, he built the temple in Jerusalem that was pleasing to God and the glory of God filled the temple.

1K 8:10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of Jehovah;

1K 8:11 And the priests were not able to stand and minister because of the cloud, for the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah.

Afterwhich he dedicated the temple and prayed a long prayer which truly is a model of perfect prayer in which prayer was directed towards the holy land, the holy temple, and the holy city. But the shocking indents that followed after his glorious kingship is a warning to all the children of God today. This is what can be termed spiritual heart disease.

Solomon loved God in his young age but his genuine love for God is no guarantee that he would love God the same unto the end.

1K 3:3 And Solomon loved Jehovah, walking in the statutes of David his father; however, he sacrificed and burned incense in the high places.

After all the glory and splendor of his kingdom and his kingship, his God-loving heart was diseased with the love for many foreign women due to the indulgence of his lust. A very practical condition among many children of God today. As recorded in the Bible, his heart was diseased with the love for many persons other than God and he ended up marrying seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. 

1K 11:1 But King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter — Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,

1K 11:2 From among the nations concerning which Jehovah had said to the children of Israel, You shall not go among them, nor shall they come among you, for they will surely turn your heart after their gods. Solomon clung to these in love.

1K 11:3 And he had seven hundred princess wives and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.

1K 11:4 And when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect toward Jehovah his God like the heart of David his father.

1K 11:5 And Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable thing of the Ammonites.

1K 11:6 And Solomon did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah and did not fully follow Jehovah as David his father had done.

1K 11:7 Then Solomon built a high place to Chemosh the detestable thing of Moab in the mountain that is before Jerusalem and to Molech the detestable thing of the children of Ammon.

1K 11:8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

The tragic end of his reign was that he lost his own kingdom, God's kingdom, and the nation of Israel. The source of his problem was again a heart problem triggered by the lust of the flesh. Now, these have been written as an example for us to learn from. Therefore, we must be absolute and desperate in dealing with our hearts and dealing with the lust of the flesh, rejecting the flesh, and living by the resurrected life of Christ.

The hands that once built the temple of God could also build the high places; the heart that once loved God also loved idolatrous women, and the heart that once worshipped God could also worship idols. This is a heart problem. 

Loving the Lord today and serving Him today is no guarantee that one will love and serve God to the end. We need the Lord's covering grace and His mercy, to be preserved to love the Lord singly and purely above all and serve Him only unto the end.

What a warning to heed! What a lesson to learn from! Salvation from spiritual heart disease is the need of the age.

Lord, save me from my natural man, my flesh, and its lust. Lord, make me absolute and desperate in loving You and pursuing you all the days of my life.

Money Matters

Money matters to people's lives a lot. To many, money has even been worshipped as a god. To such, they will do anything for money's sake. In fact, money is one of the key baits Satan uses to trap many children of God. To be pure in money matters really needs the Lord's mercy. I have been learning this lesson of dealing with money, not just for myself but even in helping others to learn the lesson in money matters.

A brother has been directly mentioning his monetary needs since the time he met me. He has the burden to serve the Lord but he cannot really get rid of money in his thought for ministry. For everything that he planned to do, his consideration is more leaning toward money. I have been very careful with him and I do not want money to come in between our relationship in Christ. Whenever he mentioned money matters, I simply ignored it and never talked on that line. Recently, he separated one of his shops for a meeting hall. He directly asked me to help him in the renovation work as a brother. But I never had any burden from the Lord nor any leading from Him to participate in his request. Even if there were offerings that could be designated to him, I'd rather not offer to him at all. I wanted to keep our relationship in Christ without any monetary tag. 

When I visited him after he renovated the meeting hall, he still kept mentioning his lack and his concern about money matters. Then I finally had to give a testimony of how the Lord provided all my needs since the time He called me to serve Him. I strongly emphasized the point that "I would not mention my financial need to anyone except the Lord." The Lord has His way of providing for His children's needs. And shared with him how the Lord provided all my needs since the time I came to serve Him full-time. 

He and his wife were very much touched by the testimony. I do believe, they have got the message concerning money matters in the service of the Lord. And I also told them that I would offer to their needs whenever the Lord leads me so, until then, even if I had money, I would not participate in their work without the Lord's leading.

Another brother whom the Lord graced me to participate in meeting his financial need last year as he was barred from attending his high school classes and exams due to nonpayment of fees which was also due to the pandemic that made his father jobless for two years now. All the amounts were offered to them through the offerings the Lord provided. I told them not to pay back as the Lord had already supplied their needs. 

In the last two Lord's days, they mentioned their need again for an even higher amount than before, for the same school fees. But this time I was not burdened at all yet I told them that I would fellowship with the church brothers. When I fellowshipped with the church brothers, we all felt the same that this time we may not give them any financial help. If they could not afford it, perhaps, they have to change school and go to a school they could afford. Therefore, we were clear this time that their request would be rejected. We would help them to trust the Lord and find ways to meet their needs, but not through the church, this time.

Another brother was helped financially during the pandemic. In fact, some amount was loaned to him which he should pay back as and when he could, but he eventually never bothered to pay it back. Now, this brother's wife is pregnant and she will give birth in a month's time, increasing the need for finance. Besides, his source of income from tuition classes also was dwindling. Whenever I considered designating a certain amount of offering to him, I had no leading from the Lord. I realized that the Lord wanted him to learn some precious matter of faith. Therefore, monetary help will be given only when the Lord gave me the peace to do so.

In all of these cases, I am learning my lesson on dealing with money matters as money matters. I hope I am learning this lesson well. I must be wise in money matters as money matters even in the Christian life. 

Lesson from Gardener

A few weeks ago it was strongly manifested that I should take care of the gardening on the premises where the church is meeting, the literature office is operating, and where I and my family are residing. It hardly dawned on me to take care of the ambiance of the premises I have been living for a decade now. But through circumstance, it has been made clearer and clearer the need for landscaping the surrounding with greens and proper gardening. For this, the Lord also sovereignly arranged the situation in such a way that the needed money for the entire work of gardening was also provided. Besides, a brother's simple comment one day touched me so deeply that I took it as the Lord's speaking and took a firm decision to take action immediately. Therefore, I hired a gardener to do the works I felt needed to be done.

One by one, the work has been carried out, from cleaning the side lawn to the back lawn, fencing works of the boundary, trimming the overgrown fruit trees, landscaping the lawn with green grass, and the front part cleaning and gardening too with trimming of the trees; all works were carried out one by one. For every work I asked the gardener to do, I had to pay him. He was very convincing that what I thought was not needed for payment I had to pay up for the work.  On the one hand, he did the work, yet on the other hand, I felt he tried to extract as much money from me. I did not want to fight and argue over money matters so I gave in to all his demands for labor charges. Though I hired him for a monthly wage, so far I have been paying him for every work that I asked him to do. Well, I counted it fair enough as long as the works were done.

Herein I learned a lesson of doing work with a price. Anything worthy always comes with a price. I felt very bad when the gardener had to charge more for all his work and I was forced to bargain which did not yield any result. In fact, I wanted to let him go after the ongoing project, but later I realized that he need to be kept for the maintenance of the entire gardening work on the premise. Out of sympathy for his family I also gifted him some old clothes and shoes, but these he counted as charity and not a part of the work I hired him for.  Well, this is the one I have for now, and have to manage with it, as long as the work is being done.

Three things I learned from this experience are noteworthy: 

Money is mammon and needs to be handled with utmost care. Use money wisely for productive purposes yet never love the money itself. 

What needs to be done must be done at whatever price it costs. Just for the costs, do not delay the work. 

Dealing with people, especially people who love money needs wisdom from the Lord. Money is so evil that it can blind a man for the gaining of it in whichever way.

This simple experience with a gardener opened my eyes to see the true value of money and how much Satan has utilized money to drive people to say anything and even do anything for money. I hate money more and more having seen its misuse. Though I need them myself, I should never love money. 

For the love of money is a root of all evils, because of which some, aspiring after money, have been led away from the faith and pierced themselves through with many pains. 1 Timothy 6:10

A Wedding Invite

The Lord moves in a marvelous way in which He only knows how to and when. I have just finished a long trip to North India and was considering the next plan. Some fellowships were done but nothing solid was planned yet. Basically, I was clueless about where the next ministry journey should be. Though a brother had come to fellowship with me, everything was still in the head without anything planned.

A month ago, a brother messaged me that he finally got engaged to a sister whom he dearly loved. The church brothers had confirmed the engagement. My innate response was to fellowship with him and pray with him over the answered prayer. A few days later, he called again enquiring if I could witness his wedding and perhaps minister the word as well. It was a surprise to me because I had no plan as such to travel all the way and attend his marriage. I was indecisive and requested some days to respond.

Meanwhile, I went before the Lord and considered my brother's request. The more I prayed about it, the more I had the peace of Christ within and as I checked my schedule and all other practical maters everything just seem right! The day, the timing, and on top of all that, a wide opening for the next ministry journey!

First, the matter of releasing and introducing the New Testament Recovery Version in Mizo as fellowshipped by the brothers came into the picture. After many fellowships, a day was fixed for a one-day seminar in Aizawl, a week after the brother's wedding day. Then, the matter of visiting Christian leaders and Burmese saints who are refugees came up. Then, the distribution trip to Nagaland and the visit to Guwahati and Kolkata were planned. Everything seems to fall in place. It was like a domino effect, a brother's phone call wedding invite triggered all the subsequent plans one by one.

Besides, my mother had called me two months ago about a visit home as I did not for quite some time now. The burden to spend some quality time with my own relatives also came right in place. Then, when I mentioned my one-week visit to Manipur to a brother he also has the burden to come to fellowship with the saints. Therefore, a church visit was planned as well. 

I was in awe to see all these unveiled one by one and that too, triggered by one call from a brother who was recently recovered back in his function and fellowship in the Body. The Lord is the Lord, He knows when and how to lead His children. My only responsibility is to look out for the Lord's leading through circumstances and His inner anointing.

Although the trip has not yet begun, I believe that the Lord has already accomplished it. I am just a witness chosen by His mercy to co-labor with Him in His vineyard. The journey has been scripted, I simply have to play it out according to the Director of this script, the Lord Jesus Christ! Lord, bless this upcoming ministry journey to the North East!

The wedding invite must indeed be a wedding invitation of the Lord Jesus as a reminder to prepare His bride so that He can come back soon for the great Wedding Day when all the overcoming saints can call, Come Lord Jesus!

He who testifies these things says, 
Yes, I come quickly. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 
Revelation 22:20

Words of Comfort

One fine evening after our family prayer, I saw a message from a high school classmate posted in a group chat. I initially thought to simply read and brush it aside as not important but on second thought, I realized that that was a very good opportunity to minister the word of God to him aparaently but to the whole group in reality. Therefore, I drafted and sent the following message to the group chat.

Dear L_____g,

A loved one lost is not an easy feeling to bear especially when the one you loved so dearly is remembered on your wedding anniversary. Nonetheless, as Christians, our hope is anchored on Christ the resurrected Lord, our hope of glory (Col.1:27), Who nullifies all hopelessness the world can only offer. 

This reminds me of Jacob (a supplanter), who on the process of becoming Israel (one who struggles with God) had to be stripped off of all his naturalness and had to lose his beloved wife of his natural choice, Rachel. It was painful, no doubt, but what followed was the birth of Benjamin (son of the right hand) who was first called Ben-oni (son of affliction) Gen. 35:18-19. Jacob lost Rachel and gained Benjamin. Typologically, Jacob on his path to maturity lost his heart's treasure, Rachel, and gained Benjamin, a type of the New Testament Christ. With a proper spiritual perspective, we can gain Christ experientially amidst the loss and pain we suffer now, only if we turn to Christ the resurrected Lord.

In our experiences too, we may have been going through "hard times" but the Lord is sovereign over all. The loss we may seem to suffer could possibly be the path God has laid for us to have a new beginning. There is nothing accidental nor coincidental in the Christian life, for all things work together for good, if we are those who love God so that we may gain Christ and be conformed to His image (Rom. 8:28-29).

My prayers and comfort to you and your children. Much grace to you. 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, *the Father of compassions and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction* that we may be able to comfort those who are in every affliction through the comforting with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, RecVer)

Post my post, there was a period of silence though the day should have been the country's independence day and it should have been flooded with posts. Finally, the friend I personally addressed to in the group responded with a note of thanks. My post was based on the post of his loving memories of his beloved wife whom he lost a couple of months ago. I could feel the pain and loss, but as a Christan, I am not clueless about this kind of situation. Therefore, it was apt for me to speak up in a way of the chat message. 

Though I do not post much, whenever I felt led by the Lord and at the right moment, I could jump in and post what I need to post. I believe that is my function for now in the group. I am glad to be able to function in that way. 

A Couple's Call

The Lord has been teaching me how to have an ear to listen to what the saints have to say, and even keenly, listen to what they did not say by discerning in the spirit, the real intent for what they said. This is one of the characteristics required of the servant of the Lord. Time and again, I have been receiving calls or fellowship from the saints and new ones of their situation. It was a true test for me not to react in my natural man; especiallty the danger is partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Generally, whoever presents a matter will present it according to his or her point of view, often self-vindicating and self-justifying. This is just fallen human nature. Therefore, I have learned not to fully believe in a one-sided story; it is always best to listen from both parties and even better, in the same call or conversation where the two present their cases at the same time.  But I must be careful, I am not the judge. I am only listening because they wanted to speak to me. Given a choice, I would opt out.

A week ago, I was in the middle of repairing my wall clock when a brother called me on a conference call with his wife. They have been through tough times in their marriage life. Though I sincerely did not like to get involved in their marital affair, they both chose to call me again and again for fellowship and prayer. I have been on the receiving end of both their calls often since they came to know me as a brother in the Lord. Every time they called, I ended up praying with them, referring their matter to the Lord. I am hundred percent sure, I can do nothing and I wanted to do nothing. As a brother, I simply offered my listening ear and prayed with them.

As I listened to both of them presenting their viewpoints, I literally had nothing to say. As I listeneed I could only turn to my spirit and called upon the Lord's name inwardly, over and over again. When they both spoke and asked me to speak, I was in complete silence as I did not know what to say.  Finally, I had the anointing from the Lord to speak a word based on the scripture. I simply fellowshipped with them to turn to the Lord, forgive one another and love the Lord to love another with the divine love, and not to give room to the enemy in their marital affair. After my short word of fellowship, we all prayed one by one and I asked both of them to carefully pray and consider before the Lord whatever decision they have to make.

I believe the Lord has been teaching and training me to learn how to shepherd the saints. He has been bringing complicated cases to let me know that I need Him to be my wisdom, understanding, and discernment. The more I face a situation like this, the more I realize my helplessness and uselessness in handling such a complicated marital issue. Thank the Lord, I personally have not faced such an issue that was brought to me. I need the Lord's covering and preservation that having listened to others of their problems I should not end up in the same.

I do trust the Lord's leading and speaking that this couple will be recovered! I know not when and how, but I do trust the living Spirit who lives in me and in them, and in His living word through which this couple can be fully reconciled and recovered. This couple's call of complaints and complications should be a call of corporate care and concern for the couple even to become the Lord's testimony bearer one day.

Lord, save the couple's marriage and bless them!

The Spirit of Faith

And having the same spirit of faith according to that which is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak. 2 Cor. 4:13 

The phrase the Spirit of Faith is used only one time in the Bible but it has tremendous significance for the subjective experience of the believers in substantiating the things of God. This spirit of faith is the mingled spirit of the believers through which the Spirit can be directly touched by the human spirit. Ignorance of this great matter would result in a great loss in the life of the believers. By the Lord's mercy, I have been enlightened to see this spirit of faith in a clear way. Many of my doubts about the reality of the spiritual fact have been cleared by this one point of truth, the spirit of faith. What a great revelation! What a great release!

Excerpts from "The Intrinsic Significance of Faith," msg 3, God's Economy in Faith, HWMR on the exercise of the spirit of faith is marvelous yet mysterious.

1. We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe in the fact that God is love—1 John 4:8.
2. We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe in the fact that God’s grace is sufficient—2 Cor. 12:9.
3. We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe in the fact that Christ is able to save us to the uttermost—Heb. 7:25.
4. We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe in the fact that we are in Christ, that Christ is in us, and that we and Christ are one—1 Cor. 1:30; Col.1:27; John 14:20; 15:5.
5. We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe in the fact that we are God’s children and heirs—Rom. 8:16-17.
6. We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe in the fact that we have been made full in Christ—Col. 2:10.
7. We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe in the fact that we are the temple of the living God and that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within us—1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16.

Be sober; watch. Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking someone to devour. Him withstand, being firm in your faith… 1 Pet. 5:8-9

1. We withstand the devil by being firm in our subjective faith in God’s protecting power and loving concern—1 Pet. 5:8-9:
2. We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe that the Lord was manifested for the purpose of destroying the works of the devil—1 John 3:8.
3. We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe that the Lord’s death has destroyed him who has the might of death, the devil—Heb. 2:14.
4. We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe that the Lord’s resurrection has put Satan to shame; the resurrection life is a life that cannot be touched by death, that transcends death, that is beyond the boundary of death, that comes out of death, and that death cannot hold—Acts 2:23-24; Phil. 3:10; Col. 2:12-15, 20; 3:1; John 14:30.
5. We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe that the ascension of the Lord has put Him far above the power of Satan—Eph. 1:20-22; 2:6; 6:11, 13.
6. We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe that the victory of the Lord is complete and that our whole life is included in this victory; we must see that we have already overcome and that we fight from a position of victory in order to maintain our victory; we can overcome because we are all included in the Lord as the leading Overcomer; He is the Head, center, reality, life, and nature of the man-child, and the manchild as the following overcomers is the Lord’s Body—Rev. 3:21; 12:5.

This portion of the ministry has very much strengthened my faith in the Lord concerning my own Christian life, church life, and service life. The impossible is possible with the spirit of faith! I too have my personal sturggles as much as I struggle collectively with the brothers in my locality for the Lord's work, yet the Lord's word concerning faith is so so encouraging. It is not merely a teaching, but that which can be practiced in reality. Halleluijah! His words and His works go together hand in hand.

This morning a brother also called me to consdier together the new post that has come on his path in his professional carreer. I encouraged him to take it as it is from the Lord. In fact, I reckon that it must be from the Lord. But he has had many bad experiences in the past that drove him to depression and lost all his self-confidence. In fact, no confidence in the self is the best foundation one needs to trust in Lord desperately and absolutely. But I fellowshipped with him the fresh enojoyment of the Lord I have been enjoying the past few days, the spirit of faith. Drawing an example from the life of King Solomon in building the temp of God, he himself had asked for wisdom and understanding from God and God granted his prayer! Besides, God also gave him all the manpower and the materials needed to build the temple. Though there were multitudes who actually built the temple and Solomon just oversaw the work, it was termed as Solomon built the temple. Because God's chose him to be the one who build the temple and gave him wisdom and understanding, and everything needed to build the temple. In a similar manner, when God assigns us His task, He will porvide the means to accomplish the task. Apparently, the task is ours, but actually it is the Lord's, and are being carried out through His provision.

Praise the Lord for this great wonder of the world, "the spirit of God!" What a spiritual dicovery! Exercise the spirit of faith!

Gospel of Faith

In the recent training for full-timers and coworkers, the Lord was strengthening His speaking concerning faith. God has His economy which is in faith (1 Tim. 1:4). To fulfill His economy is also in faith. The basic matter of the Christian life is faith. This faith links us to the Triune God, enabling us to live God and accomplish His economy. Therefore, anything that is not in faith is sin. And everything in God's relationship with man is faith.

Faith versus Sight
Sight is anything that can be seen, anything outside our spirit, that is, anything earthly.  This sight is not merely physical sight that can be seen with physical eyes. This sight is also psychological sight; the thinkings of the mind, the imaginations, fantasies, and dreams. All these sights outside the spirit are against faith. Many Christian have been deceived to live their lives by psychological sights.

Faith on the positive side is:

1. To amen the word of God (Rom. 10:17)
2. A spontaneous response to the word of God 
3. Appreciating the Lord
4. To substantiate the things of God, the divine and mystical things by the Spirit of faith
5. To See the unseen God, an oxymoron (Heb. 11:1, 2 Cor. 4:13)
6. Links us to the Triune God

The root of faith is God, the Spirit. Only in the Spirit where there is faith, we are joined to the Triune God. At times, we may have little or no experience, but deep within faith is operating in us. We may not necessarily have wonderful experiences of the Lord, on the contrary, we may have been going through hard times, feeling dry and dead within, but still, faith is in our spirit, quietly operating unconsciously. If we do know this truth about living by faith, the enemy will have no ground to accuse and condemn us in any way.

Faith and Love are related. The way to love the Lord is by faith, not feeling. Even our love is in faith. "Greet those who love us in faith"(Titus 3:15). There should be no introspection and no seeking for feeling. We should simply live the Christian life in faith and still say, "Lord Jesus, I love You" even when we have no feeling for the Lord.

Faith in the negative aspect is: 

1. To stop our doing and work even in "serving the Lord"
2. To proclaim that we are unable to fulfill God's requirement. This is to see that God has done everything. 
3. To rejoice always
4. To believe that God is
5. To cut off the flesh with its natural energy 
6. To trust in the Lord

To sum up the gospel of faith, we must simply return to the Lord, and rest in Him. Faith is returning to the Lord, resting in the Lord, being quiet in the Lord, and trusting in the Lord.

“For thus says the Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, In returning and rest you will be saved; In quietness and in trust will be your strength; But you were not willing,” (Isaiah 30:15, RecVer)

Even when serious issues arise, if you are a man of faith, you will not be troubled. You simply face the issues and come out of it triumphantly! Inward storm and outward storm defeat believers without faith. If you have faith, you will rest and be at peace. The storm will stop as we trust in the Lord.

Faith is the only link from the physical realm to the divine realm. Faith accomplishes everything for us and in us. In faith, we rest in the Lord, whatever happens. It is in the long dry tunnel that in faith we grow the most. We are purified in the long dark tunnel. In faith, you don't go by feeling. 

This is the gospel of faith. A great release from the subtle deception of the enemy for those who heard and believe in the gospel of faith. What a release!

Experience of Truth

Many years ago when I met a Christian leader and introduced the ministry books as the book of truth, he asked me a question, "What is Truth?" My innate reply then was, 'Truth is Christ!" Of course, I replied confidently based on John 14:6.

What is the Truth? Truth is God in Christ as the Spirit of reality applying everything of God to us for the accomplishment of God's economy in and through us. Truth is embodied in the Word of God. Interestingly, truth in the Bible is always singular, implying that there is only one unique truth in the whole universe. The truth God gave to us is the Holy Spirit inside of us as the fulfilled promise of the Spirit which He gave to Abraham who today is the pneumatic Christ as the life-giving Spirit, and the Holy Bible outside of us, in our hands, as the written word of God which in Spirit can become the living word of God and further becomes the applied word of God to dispense life to us, the readers. In the Bible is the truth hidden. Thus, the only way to get the truth is by opening the Bible physically, psychologically, and spiritually.

The proper translation for truth in many versions of the Bible should be accurately rendered as reality, instead of truth, as in John 14:6; 1:14. And the Spirit of reality, meaning the Spirit is reality, is found in John 14, 15, 16. In 1 John 5:6, the Spirit is the reality who is the consummation of the Triune God. Apart from the Spirit, there is no reality. 

In 1 John 1:6, the reality is versus vanity. In fact, everything is vanity, the opposite of reality. The only unique reality is the Holy Spirit. Only God is the unique reality, everything else is vanity. To touch Him as the reality, He gave us the Holy Spirit and the Holy Bible. In John 6:63, the word is Spirit and life. Psalms 119:130 says that the opening of the word of God gives light. This implies the need for the word of God to enter into our minds, then shine and renew our minds leading us to transformation. This is what the truth is for, to accomplish God's heart's desire.

The way to God is the Lord as the reality to us, touching Christ as the reality in the Word. When the word becomes reality, we can touch God. Beginning with the reading of the word, then the word becomes life to us. Growing in life is through the word, touched by the Spirit, then the word becoming the Spirit who gives life. This is how the Church can be built by the growth of God through the word of God being opened up to us.

2 Cor. 3:6 says the Spirit gives life and the letter kills. Teaching what was understood is only in letters but supplying what was experienced and enjoyed is by the Spirit. Only the life supply through the spirit can cause growth in life for the building up of the Body of Christ.

A good way to enter into the word of God is to pursue the Life-study of the Bible (1984 messages) and the 347 messages on the High Peak series of messages. These open up the Bible. I have taken up the pursuit of the Life-studies and the High Peaks as my daily and weekly exercises.

In this way, I can be healthy in my Christian life and be supplied organically by the divine life supply. In this way, I can be blended into the Body and contribute to the spreading of the word of God to many others. Then, I can testify the following word of God: 

“Holding to the faithful word, which is according to the teaching of the apostles, that he may be able both to exhort by the healthy teaching and to convict those who oppose.” (Titus 1:9, RecVer)

“If you lay these things before the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, being nourished with the words of the faith and of the good teaching which you have closely followed.” (1 Timothy 4:6, RecVer)

Plan for Growth

“And the word of God grew, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly; and a large number of the priests obeyed the faith.” (Acts 6:7, RecVer)

“But the word of God grew and multiplied.” (Acts 12:24, RecVer)

 The conclusion of the ministry of the word through the ministry journey of the apostles in the Jewish region is that the word of God grew and multiplied. Similarly in the gentile region, the word of God grew and prevailed. 

“Thus, the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.” (Acts 19:20, RecVer)

This is the testimony recorded in the Bible concerning the way to increase the number of disciples. Yes, it was purely through the ministering of the word of God. The same principle applies today.  The issue of the constitution of the truth in the saints is for the building up of the Body of Christ and also for the increase of the church.

Since last Tuesday, the coworkers and full-timers serving ones came together for a time of fellowship and training. One of the burdens of the training was the increase of the saints in the churches inwardly by the constitution of the truth and outwardly too by the increase of the word of God.  For this, the brothers serving in the local churches should pay much attention to the enjoyment of the word of God. One new way to dive into the depth of the truth is the way of pray-reading, studying, reciting, and prophesying. In this way, the saints can be constituted with the truths which will enable them to grow in life and issue in the building up of the Body of Christ which in turn will be manifested as the increase in the number of the believers added into the church. 

For this increase to be practical, there needs to be a proper plan. Our God is a God of planning. Therefore, the responsible brothers must make a five years plan, stage by stage. Even for the church where I am, we made plans for the coming six months and the coming five years with the goal of reaching a hundred saints regularly meeting by next year. If the fellowship from the brothers were to be adhered to strictly, this goal can be achieved. This plan has to be worked out to become a reality. 

I do believe this is a confirmation from the Lord through the Body as we have been praying for the increase in the local church here. Especially in my family prayer, this has been one of our daily prayer burdens, to increase first to a hundred saints regularly meeting. In answer to that prayer, the Lord is now showing us how that prayer can be answered. It is God who answers prayer and it is also God who would execute all the plans, but man must cooperate with God and co-labor with Him step by step until the entire plan is accomplished.

Included in this plan is also the matter of desperately laboring on the saints and the new ones. While expecting the Lord's blessing for the increase, the saints must also live a normal Christian life in normal church life. In such a normal church life, the saints will shepherd one another and shepherd the new ones. Shepherding as a result of the enjoyment of the word of God is the best way to gain an increase in the church life. Shepherding includes laboring faithfully without any selection on who to shepherd, we must simply shepherd the saints, good or bad. The Lord will surely bless such faithful labor in shepherding.

The constitution of the word of God and the laboring in shepherding will make the plan accomplishable. This is the new way we are taking, in fact, I am taking, in my serving in the Body in my local church. All my other brothers will follow suit and we will be recipients of the Lord's blessing for His testimony in Gurugram.

Lord, bless the plan for the church through the constitution of the truth and the shepherding of the saints.