Shepherding Visit in Hyderabad

The Lord has been very faithful in leading me to places I should go and people I should meet, when and with whom. Last week as I was in the full-timers training in Hyderabad, the Lord made arrangement for me to meet three families in the city. Though I had no plan as such, the Lord made the arrangements!

The first family was a classmate of mine twenty years ago while I was studying my Master's degree in Computer Science in Chennai. His family had move to Hyderabad as he has been working in the city. His wife a medical doctor working in a hospital in the city too. As we visited him and his family, I fellowshipping on the matter of our need to be dealt with by the Lord through the experience of the cross of Jesus Christ and emphasized the need for laboring on the all-inclusive Christ. Then, my two fellow brothers added on the same points with more details. 

In order to encourage the couple for the normal Christian living, I shared about the need to function as priests of the New Testament, our divine birthright. As a priest, one must live in the presence of God, bring God to people, and bring people to God. This can and must be done by all Christians wherever the Lord has placed us. In our work places, in our neighborhood, and wherever. Besides, we all prayed for the family and encouraged them to be in fellowship with the church in Hyderabad. God also sovereignly brought a couple from the church in Hong Kong to live near his apartment so that they can be in fellowship. I do pray and believe that the Lord will receive this family for the church life.

The second family was the family of a sister who is also an Indian army officer. I knew her since the time she was single and was serving in Guwahati. She had been enjoying the church life there and even attended a month's training in Gurugram. She is also one of the sisters to whom I used to send prayer request whenever I travel for the ministry literature journey. As she received my message last week, she immediately enquired if I was in Hyderabad and that she would like to attend "my meeting," if any, or meet for fellowship. In fact, when I received the message I was already on the way to meet a brother's family who lives a few miles away from her. The Lord was sovereign in this arrangement; the date, the place, and the timing were all just perfect!

As I and a brother visited her family, on her request for the word of God, I fellowshipped with her and her husband on God's eternal plan. As we read Bible verses like Genesis 1:26; 2:7, 1 Thessalonians 5:24, and others, I expounded these verse and delved deep into the ruth concerning  the spirit, soul, and body of man and how God as the Spirit comes into regenerate man once anyone believes into the Lord Jesus Christ, the burden shifted to her husband who has not yet been baptised. Then, I helped him to understand the spiritual significances of baptism by showing all the important verses in the New Testament concerning baptism. I also encouraged the family to open their home for the saints to visit for home meetings and introduced them to the brothers in the church in Hyderabad. I do pray and believe that the Lord will receive this family for the church life.

The third family was a brother known to me since twenty years. But he has been distracted very much by the things in Christianity and could not stay faithful to practice of the proper church life. Nevertheless, I have been in touch with him and visited him whenever I can. Though I did not have any thought of inviting for any church meeting as such, after visiting him, he called me to get the phone humber of one of the brothers in the church in Hyderabad. Later he texted me to say that he had called the brother and that he would join the meeting with the church on the Lord’s Day. I do pray and believe that the Lord will receive this family for the church life.