Contrary to the Wind

Due to the ongoing case against our brothers for the sake of the gospel, things have become more and more complicated for the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the Lord is the Lord and He knows how to be the Lord in times like this. Since the intensification of the persecution in North India due to the recently amended bill in one of the states, we have faced two arrests already. These also indicate what the Lord intends to do in our midst at this time. We need to adapt to the outward changes and exercise ourselves to follow the Lord as He leads the way.  Therefore, changes began to happen in the Lord's move. One significant change is concerning the risk involved in the publication work in India with two of our brothers being on board for the publication entity. A few weeks ago a brother asked this question. My innate feeling at that time was that there would always be a risk and that we should be bold enough to face the risks for the sake of the Lord. However, I prayed that the Lord's will be done. If the Lord's will is to face the risk, let's face it. And if the Lord's will is to make adjustments, let us adjust. Sometimes, He leads through the environment. Therefore, I replied to the brother that I would fellowship with the brothers serving in the work in India and get back. After fellowshipping with the brothers serving in the work, the fellowship was to let our brothers abroad know that there indeed is a risk and that they could take the final call. Today morning, I received a reply from one of the brothers coordinating with us from abroad a co-director of the entity, about his intent to resign because of the risk due to the present political and religious environmental situation in India. I was deeply disappointed and distressed initially. I did not know how to even reply to the message. But I looked to the Lord and prayed that His will may be done. Everything is in the Lord's hand, and I fully submit to His sovereign arrangement. 

As usual, as we pursued the ministry portion which was ministered by Br. Watchman Nee about a hundred years ago, I was so much supplied and strengthened. The excerpts from the ministry portion are below, it speaks for itself, and I highlighted those sentences that mean so much to me. O what a timely speaking of the Lord even at this crucial juncture! The Lord is the living Lord.

The most important task for each of us is to put ourselves into God’s hand in a quiet, patient, prayerful, consecrated, and obedient way and wholeheartedly seek after His leading. We should be willing to obey Him and act only in accordance with His will. We should pray that He reveal to us the journey He has designated for us. After this, we should pay any price to wholeheartedly walk on it.

And when evening fell, the boat was in the midst of the sea and He was alone on the land. And seeing them distressed as they rowed, for the wind was contrary to them, He came toward them about the fourth watch of the night, walking on the sea, and He intended to pass by them. (Mark 6:47-48, RecVer)

If the journey which many Christians take is not contrary to the wind, I doubt whether such a journey is ordained by the Lord. We should take the journey that the Lord has ordained. The Lord has already ordained our place on the earth. He said, “The world hates you.” Our journey is one that is contrary to the wind. If we have never been opposed, ridiculed, or persecuted by the world, our position must not have come from the Lord. We should encounter adverse wind; we should not run with the wind. If we walk according to what the Lord has ordained, from the northeast to the southwest, there certainly will be adverse wind. Otherwise, I have doubts about our journey.

“And seeing them distressed as they rowed, for the wind was contrary to them”! Faithful believers experience being distressed as they row, for the wind is contrary to them! In the past few years, temptations have become more numerous and severe than before. Those who belong to the Lord seem to encounter much trouble. Their bodies are often weak and ill. There are often discord and difficulty in their families. Their jobs and living are not as easy as before. Their community and country have increasingly persecuted and attacked them. Even more, Satan and the evil spirits have done their best to stir up trouble with the intention of consuming and afflicting the believers. Oh, these are all adverse winds! If we stand firmly on the course which the Lord has ordained, we will realize that the wind is contrary and indeed distressing!

Yet we would rather be distressed than drifting. We would rather toil in rowing than wander in drifting. We would rather take the difficult journey than take the easy path and drift.

If a person has never experienced adverse winds, he is most pitiful! If a person has never reckoned that the world is bitter, corrupt, and can persecute people, this person has never started his journey! You will encounter hardship and realize that the wind is contrary only when you are faithful in your walking. Only then will you hear a voice telling you, “It is too hard. Why not loosen up a little and rest a moment?” 

He knows how great our temptations are and how difficult our circumstances are. He will not let us endure beyond the fourth watch. When the night is far advanced, He comes to us. He has died for us and ascended to the heavens to pray for us. At the same time, He sees our hardship. When the night is far advanced, He will come. Excerpt from The Present Testimony (3) CWWN, vol.10, THE LAST PART OF THE JOURNEY Issue No. 24

What a timely speaking of the Lord! As I shared this message, I also mentioned how much I was supplied by His timely speaking. 

This morning, I was very much shepherded by the ministry portion that we pursued. Even after 100 years, the ministry still speaks and supplies, that too, in a very timely manner.

Praise the Lord the ministry of the word!

Our lives on earth as we follow the Lord according to His leading is indeed contrary to the wind. But He will lead us to the end and He will come again very soon. Come, Lord Jesus!

Shepherding Our Next Generation

And you shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I command you today, shall be upon your heart; And you shall repeat them to your children, and speak about them when you sit in your house and when you journey on the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up; (Deuteronomy 6:5-7, RecVer)

The command of Jehovah God is to love Him with all our being. The command of Jehovah further is to repeat the command of God to our children. Yes, we must love the Lord. Much more, we must be a pattern to our children that they can love God even as we do, even more than we do. The responsibility of raising the children is not in the hands of the church in general, but each parent must bear this burden. Timothy is a pattern of one who grew up in his home filled with the word of God.

And that from a babe you have known the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15, RecVer)

A good and healthy practice in a family is to repeat the word of God to all our children by having a daily family meeting where the word of God is read and prayers offered together. Daily family prayer life is one key factor in shaping our children's future. This meeting should be interesting to the children. The focus of this meeting is on the children. Everything should be done with love and the meeting should lovingly attract the children. Nothing should be forced on them to join the meeting. It should be done with love and the children should be happy and joyful to join the meeting willingly. Otherwise, it will create a negative impact on the children and they may veer away from the truth later in life. On the one hand, a family meeting is necessary. On the other hand, the children should not be forced to attend the meeting. But the parent must take care of the meeting in such a way that it becomes so interesting for the children. And that they all can function in this meeting. 

In our family life, the Lord has been gracing us to enjoy our daily family prayer time since ehte very beginning of my family life. Now, we have clubbed our family meeting with the Life-study meeting and the church's short corporate prayer at the end. This has been one of the blessings added to our church life and family life this year!

For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of Jehovah by doing righteousness and justice, that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken concerning him. (Genesis 18:19, RecVer)

We and our children, and our Children's children should continue to love the Lord and serve the Lord. 

And Israel served Jehovah throughout all the days of Joshua and throughout all the days of the elders whose days extended after Joshua’s and who knew all the work of Jehovah that He had done for Israel. (Joshua 24:31, RecVer)

But there is also a negative situation that we should be warned of, as revealed in this verse.

And all that generation as well were gathered to their fathers; and another generation, who did not know Jehovah or the work that He had done for Israel, rose up after them. (Judges 2:10, RecVer)

There may be the possibility of losing our next generation to the world. The decline of this age may affect our young ones, especially with the new technologies, selfie for example is a distraction to love and promote the self.  These are the things we have to be careful with our children. As an anti-testimony, we have to show them by example, loving the Lord and not the world.

Now, that the Lord is coming soon, we have to help our children be prepared to meet the Lord. One way is to help them develop a personal relationship with the Lord. We must help them to have a deep and strong spiritual root so that they would not be shallow in their understanding of the truth or in their experiences of life. One thing the Lord has been burdening me with is to shepherd the young ones in my locality to love the Lord more and more, to love the word of God more and more, and to spend time with the Lord more and more, even in fasting and prayer. I have done my best to my family members, and my children to inculcate this habit of daily Bible reading and prayer life. By the Lord's mercy, my children have gradually picked up this burden and habit. The same I have done to the college students. Gradually, I could see a lot of improvement in their personal relationship with the Lord. Time and again, I would repeat this burden to all the young ones. I would follow them up, and encourage them to go on in the Lord. I know, by repeatedly encouraging and showing them with a living pattern, the Lord will impress them and burden them. And one day, they will be established in their spiritual life and be a pattern to others. 

In love, we must also care for their future, academic as well as spiritual future. We must love our children and spend time with them, listen to them, understand their situation, and speak forth Christ with experiences, nurture them, discipline, and admonish them with the goal of letting them know that God blesses us with all things and let learn how to thank the Lord for everything. We should spend time with them to help them have a proper conscience too. Help them learn to confess their sins whenever they commit sins, and repent for their sinful deeds. In this way, they will be preserved by the Lord.

Tonight, in the parent and serving ones meeting of the churches in India for the teenagers and young ones, we have learned and fellowshipped on the above practical points.  May the Lord bless all the serving ones and parents to be a pattern to all the young ones. May the Lord preserve all the young ones to be a generation who love and serve the Lord, even to meet the Lord if the Lord comes back in their generation.

Entering into the Kingdom!

The Lord has already spoken concerning persecution when we follow Him. The same has been experienced by the saints in the churches in North India these days. There have been persecutions all around. In the midst of all these persecutions, the Lord also speaks and intensifies His move. The last week's Life-study portions were mostly on persecution and how to fact it boldly in the Lord, not denying the Lord.

Mt 10:32Everyone therefore who will confess in Me before men, I also will confess in him before My Father who is in the heavens;

Mt 10:33But whoever will deny Me before men, I also will deny him before My Father who is in the heavens.

The Lord knows best why His believers have to face persecution. He uses it for His testimony and for the spreading and preaching of the gospel of the kingdom of God. He even foretold that in the face of persecution, one should not be anxious for the Spirit in the believers will do the necessary speaking.

Mt 10:16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be therefore prudent as serpents and guileless as doves.

Mt 10:17And beware of men, for they will deliver you up to sanhedrins, and in their synagogues they will scourge you.

Mt 10:18And you will also be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.

Mt 10:19But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you should speak, for it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak;

Mt 10:20For you are not the ones speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is the One speaking in you.

As we were reading the Life-studies, I also could sense that at least three sisters with their relatives being from the gentile family background have been going through persecution. The Lord burdened me over and over again to strengthen the points on the need to be absolute for the Lord no matter what or how strong persecutions or oppositions may be from the enemy.

Mt 10:36And a man’s enemies will be those of his household.

Mt 10:37He who loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me;

Mt 10:38And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

Mt 10:39He who finds his soul-life shall lose it, and he who loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it.

In the midst of all these, the Lord also is working on a sister to gain her. She was first introduced to me by a brother and then by another sister. The first time I met her, the only thing I could speak to her was, to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and help her to know the Lord Jesus Christ and believe into the Lord Jesus Christ. As a matter of faithfulness to the truth of the Bible, I also shared the truth concerning baptism right away as mentioned in Mark 16:16. But I left the choice to her; for her to pray, consider, and take her own decision at her own time. But I encouraged her to pray and read the Bible daily, and also join the fellowship and meeting of the saints. She has been regularly joining the daily Life-study pursuit since then, and also the Lord's Day meeting. 

Last week too, as we enjoyed studying the message on the kingdom of God, one point was very clear to her; the unique way to enter into the kingdom of God is through regeneration, to be born of the Spirit, and also of water (baptism).

Jn 3:3Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Jn 3:5Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

I do believe, the Lord spoke to her strongly because I could sense that she was really touched as I led the saints in pursuing the truth last Lord's Day. Deep within me, I realized that the Lord would lead her to make her own decision to be baptized. For, she has already believed into the Lord Jesus Christ. A few days later, I received a message saying that she wanted to be baptized. I praise the Lord for leading her to make this decision on her own. At the same time, I look to the Lord for wisdom so that we may know how to help her fulfill God's word concerning baptism in the midst of persecution going on in the region where we are residing. I prayed and brought the matter to the brothers in Gurugram and also in New Delhi. After confirmation from the brothers, I have an inward peace from the Lord to go ahead and baptize her. Meanwhile, personally, and in the church, strong prayers have been offered. The whole church prayed for her baptism in the prayer meeting, in our family prayer, and in my personal prayer. Today, as she came prepared for baptism, the church prayed for her again. After lunch, we had a session on looking into the Scriptures concerning believing and baptism with all the relevant Bible verses. And with strong prayers, the sister was baptized! Hallelujah!

May the Lord continue to work in our sister so that she may grow in the divine life day by day unto full maturity. May she even become a beacon of life and a channel of blessing to all her family members who are yet to be saved!  Praise the Lord for the Lord's move in North India.

Living in the Reality of the Kingdom of God

The kingdom of God is the realm of divine life and divine species. It is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself sown as a Seed into the believers, growing and developing into a realm over which God can rule. The kingdom of God is where God has His rule and reign, where God is expressed, and where God is represented. In fact, the kingdom of God is the church life where the believers live in the reality of the kingdom of God. 

Jn 1:12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name,

Jn 1:13Who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Jn 3:3Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Jn 3:5Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Praise the Lord that the believers today have entered into the kingdom of God by being born of God (John 1:12,13), and by being born anew (John 3:3,5). As such, today as believers in the church life, we are in the kingdom of God! 

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

Rm 8:6For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.

But the burden these days has been, are we living in the reality of the kingdom of God? Having entered into the kingdom of God, do we live in the reality of the kingdom of God? For this reality, the believers have to live by the divine life and follow the sense of life within by setting the mind on the spirit (Romans 8:2, 6). But for some, the sense of life could be just dead. The reason being, the spirit has not been exercised and therefore becomes very weak resulting in no feeling for anything. If such be the case, there is an urgent need for revival. Prayer is one of the ways to exercise the human spirit and revive the sense of life within. Only by such a sense, can one live in the reality of the kingdom of God. Following the sense of life is following the Lord's leading and allowing God to rule and reign over us. When such is the case, one is living in the reality of the kingdom of God.

Co 3:4When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory.

Co 2:19And not holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.

Mt 5:3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

Mt 5:8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

However, for one to be able to sense the life within his spirit, there is a need for growth in life. Christ is our life (Col. 3:4), and we must hold to Christ as the Head too (Col. 2:29), out from which one can draw life supply and grow up in the divine life. This is the biblical truth. To realize this truth subjectively, one must be poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3) and pure in heart (Matthew 5:8). To be poor in spirit is not to be satisfied with what one already has, but to hunger and thirst for more of God. If one is poor in spirit, he will thirst and hunger for the word of God, the fellowship in the Body, for prayer, for meeting with the saints, and for the practical church life. And in the process, he will grow and gain God. One also needs to be pure in heart, having a single goal of gaining God and God alone, seeking nothing else but God. With purity of heart, one will not seek for prosperity, healing, or even spiritual growth. Though all these may be granted by the Lord's mercy, he will seek only God and for God alone. With these two conditions of being pure in heart and poor in spirit, one will exercise very much in his spirit and strengthen his spirit. Thereby, growing in the sense of life, leading further to the growth in life and enabling God to rule over him. Then, there will be the reality of living in the kingdom of God. This will definitely result in God being expressed and represented. This is also God's goal in His creation of man in Genesis 1:26. 

Gn 1:26And 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.

This was the living message the Lord gave to the church today. I was so personally supplied even as the Lord pleased to minister the word through me. And all the saints were richly supplied too.

Lord, preserve all the saints to be so exercised in their spirits so that they may grow daily. Lord, grant us the attitude and motive of being poor in spirit and pure in heart to grow in life and follow the sense of life and be led by the spirit and be governed by the Lord unto the living out of God in the reality of the kingdom of God in our church life today.

Second Visit to Prison

Remember those who are imprisoned as bound with them, those who are ill-treated as being yourselves also likewise treated in body. (Hebrews 13:3, RecVer)

On 1st Oct 2024, we visit our brothers in the prison in Mathura. My Goodland: A Visit to Prison

On the 29th of Nov, after about two months, we visited them again as the brothers from the church in Gurugram. During the last two months, we had been praying and waiting for them to be bailed out. But the matter got delayed over and over again. In fact, I was personally waiting for the time that they would be released so that my next visit would be to pick them up from the prison. But the Lord knows best and I accept all His arrangements, though a little disappointed for them nor being granted bail when they should legally have been granted. I learned to restrain my feelings and accept the sovereign arrangement of the Lord.

Through this incident, the Lord has been working intrinsically into our being and made clear what new steps He wanted to take in this country, especially in North India. The Lord allowed this so that we can make a review of the way we have been living our Christian life and practicing the church life. Through this, some dormant saints were revived, and the prayer of the church in Gurugram was very much strengthened in both personal and corporate prayer life. In fact, I could testify that our prayer life had been revolutionized! Since the incident, the whole church could come together to pray together online every night after our Life-study pursuit. And with this as the background, we also strengthened the burden of fasting and prayer, open to all the saints in the church life. This burden also personally affects my prayer life. Praise the Lord!

As brothers in the church, we coordinated to meet our brothers in the prison. We were mutually encouraged by this visit. I had some personal fellowship for certain official matters with a brother and passed on some offerings. Likewise, five of us met five of them and spent about half an hour for fellowship. Beyond that, the prison rule did not allow further meetings. 

Due to the prolonged stay in the prison, the brothers too have been through some concerns related to the case filed against them. The brothers who are responsible for the legal matters have been doing their best in coordination with the lawyers. Despite all their labors and efforts, the opposite party put up a delaying tactic under the ambit of the controversial bill passed in that state. All legal options have been utilized. Now, we leave the matter to the Lord how He will lead us through. We are a little disheartened but did not lose hope in the Lord. God is still on the throne and He knows what is best for us all. Let His will be done in His own time. 

With this ongoing case, the enemy has also been very fierce in attacking the saints and the churches in North India. It has become more and more obvious in the way he manipulated the ill-intent of the opposition party and the system. He attacked first from the outside of the church, and now he also attacks the church by causing doubt, fear, anxiety, and a blame game among some weaker saints. But the Lord is the Lord and He will not allow the gates of Hades to prevail against the church. We stand on guard and stay alert against the enemy's attack. The Lord has also been speaking to us daily on the line of persecution that the Lord Jesus Himself faced while in His earthly ministry. No matter what, we are victorious in the victory of our Lord Jesus the Victor!

Lord, bless Your move in North India.

Fasting and Prayer

But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. Mt 17:21 

The Lord Jesus Christ is the best pattern of a man of prayer. While He was in His early ministry, He lived a God-man life of prayer. He did everything according to the Father's will and spent time with the Father alone in prayer. Even when He could have exercised His rights and authority, He chose not to. instead, He submitted Himself fully and did the will of the Father.

Having such a pattern of a Man of prayer, I have also consecrated myself to follow the Lord's pattern. Not only me, but the brothers who have been taking the lead in the Lord's move in this country also made an open announcement and encouragement for the saints and the churches to pray. Yes, even fast and pray. We generally did not speak in this way as we did not want to fall into a religious trap and turn the matter of prayer into a thing of ritual. But this should not hinder us from offering genuine prayers to the Lord according to His burden. There indeed is a thin line between praying genuinely and praying for the sake of fulfilling one's religious duty. I advocate the former and abhor the latter.

Last Saturday, I had the strong feeling from the Lord to bring this matter to the brothers' fellowship so that we brothers can start praying in such a way; a fasting prayer at least once a week that the saintaints who joined the PSRP meeting on Lord's Day afternoon. The same burden I reiterate in our Monday afternoon literature distribution fellowship, encouraging all my serving brothers to pray and seek the Lord's leading for all our practical service. To even further strengthen thes can follow. The same burden was released in our prayer meeting on the same day, and though not intended, still, the Lord made it happen. Therefore, we made the burden known to all the saints who joined the weekly prayer meeting. The same burden has been made known to all the saints, the burden of fasting and prayer. I also started posting the ministry excerpts on fasting and prayer, a portion daily. There is also a need for spiritual education on the truth, which will gradually become our spiritual and normal function as a child of God. Though we generally did not make such announcements on fasting and prayer, the need of the time has called for it.

Excerpt from FASTING AND PRAYER Lessons on Prayer, CWWL, 1959, vol. 4, ch. 19

FASTING BEING THE SPONTANEOUS EXPRESSION OF MAN RECEIVING GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

FASTING BEING AN INDICATION OF MAN’S ABSOLUTENESS

FASTING BEING THE RENUNCIATION OF LAWFUL RIGHT

FASTING BEING MAN INDICATING THAT HE DOES NOT CARE FOR HIMSELF

FASTING BEING FOR THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF GOD’S WILL AND FOR THE DEFEAT OF SATAN

NOT FASTING LIGHTLY

FASTING BEING NECESSARY

On the one hand, a Christian should not fast lightly, but on the other hand, he needs to fast. If a Christian has never fasted, there is certainly something wrong with him. Either God has never committed any matter to him, or he has refused God’s commission. 

If you would care a little for God’s heart, the burden for the gospel would press upon you, and you would struggle in life and death. So, what does fasting mean? Fasting means that you care very much for God’s purpose, and you deeply sense the fierceness of God’s enemy. Such sensation presses and compels you to such an extent that you simply cannot eat, drink, and be merry like other men, but you must fast.

Without letting know anyone, not even my family, the Lord enabled me to start carrying out this burden by fasting and prayer. I pray that this burden will be a regular lifestyle of mine. In addition to my daily pursuit and prayer life, now I have been graced to further spend additional time for fasting and prayer. May the Lord bless all the saints in the church who are burdened by His burden and that we all consecrate our time to fast and pray regularly.

With all the outward situations going on in this country, the Lord is indirectly leading us to live a life of prayer and doing His will. Despite all the enemy's attacks, the Lord is working into the being of the saints to perfect us for the building up of His Body. There are certain things that can be dealt with and accomplished only through fasting and prayer. I believe it is even healthy to have a regular practice of fasting and prayer. 

Lord, lead us to live a life of prayer that is according to You. Lord, make a man of prayer like You.

Tears of Remorse

On the 1st of November, a brother gave a surprise and impromptu visit. As he sat in the living room and I was next to him, I gave him the liberty to speak and pour out whatever he wanted to pour out. For sure, he came with a definite purpose. Meanwhile, I also felt the need immediately to not handle him alone. So, I invited another two brothers to join with me in the fellowship. Thank God that two brothers were one with me, sitting with me as we listened to this brother.

By the way, this new brother was a little intoxicated as it was evident from his facial expression and the smell from his bodily presence. His family was gained about a decade ago while they were in DLF-1. Later, they shifted to New Delhi and we lost touch as they left the fellowship and decided not to receive our calls or shepherding visits anymore. Due to many reasons, mostly their family matters, and their unwillingness to take the fellowship, they took their own way against my personal and brotherly fellowship to them before they left. Since then, they have been completely out of touch. This is also a lesson that I am yet to learn a complete lesson on shepherding. May the Lord forgive me for my shortage in not being able to shepherd this family. 

As this brother started narrating his ordeals, he started weeping and weeping. He could not even speak properly as he wept and wept in front of us. At one point, he even came and tried to kneel down before me which I objected sternly. But I encouraged him to release what was in his heart. Finally, he slowly calmed down and narrated all the tragedies his family has been going through since the time they left the church life. These are his own words, I paraphrased it. 

"Brother, from the time we left the church life, everything went downhill. Now, we have come to the bottom of the pit. Though we have everything, we actually have nothing. I want to come back to the church. Please forgive me and accept me." 

I immediately comforted him and encouraged him that they could come back anytime and that they were welcome always. In fact, I proposed that we also visit his family provided that they are willing for us to visit as his wife objected to our visit and never shared their address in the past. He also mentioned that his wife was diagnosed with a third-stage breast cancer. As he described the situation, he wept again saying that everything was over. But I encouraged him by telling him that the Lord still loves them, the church still loves them, and we still love them. Then, we prayed for him and his family. He also prayed after we prayed.  

I brought this matter to the brothers' fellowship of the church and we prayed for this family that the Lord would recover them back. He had come and shed tears of remorse. Our door is always open to whoever is willing to come for fellowship. 

Lord, fully recover our brother's family.

Ministry of the Word Distribution in Gurugram

On the 14th of November, the Lord opened the door for the ministry of word to be introduced and distributed to the two main bible colleges in Gurugram. Though the ministry station for India has been here in this city for about two decades now, not once have we gone to visit these Bible colleges. The two main reasons for not visiting were, first, the oldest Bible college was visited when we first came to Gurugram in 2005/2006. However, the college after receiving the free ministry literature rejected it due to someone's opposition. We came to this through one of the Bible college students who mentioned what transpires there in the college. Since then, we have not paid attention to someone who would not receive the ministry. Second, a decade after that incident, the son of the owner of the same Bible college found us online and visited our office in Gurugram where he purchased all the ministry books available at that time, for the college library. Since he came and purchased all the ministry books in publication, we did not find the need to go there again. And we were not aware of another Bible college in Farukhnagar. Though I heard about it through another brother I did not know that it was a full-fledged Bible college. My thought was that it was a small Christian institute.

But this time, I received an email requesting twenty free copies of Affirmation & Critique. While checking the address, it was the same college that I heard about. So, I felt it was the time to visit the college personally. On the one hand to deliver the required journals and on the other hand to have an onsite visit of the college premises itself. In that way, there can be an open door for the ministry literature to spread further in North India even through Christina institutes, workers, and believers. After over an hour's drive, we arrived at the college and met with the Chief Librarian, the Director, and then the Principal of the college. As we introduced the ministry books, they were interested in getting all the free books and also to review the ministry books in English and Hindi. So, the ministry publication was delivered to them for their review and further order, if need be. Praise the Lord that they were receiving the ministry books for the first time. May the Lord grant them the spirit of wisdom and revelation to see the divine revelation of the Bible expounded through the minsitry literature.

On our way back, about half an hour's drive from Farukhnagar, we drop by another Bible college at Dhankot. Though it was an impromptu visit, the principal accepted the ministry books for their reference, and a box of ministry books in Hindi was handed over to them. In fact, this college already received the ministry publication about a decade ago.

In this way, despite the opposition from the enemy in spreading the gospel in North India, the Lord still preserved some open doors through which the ministry literature could still spread. Later, we had a home meeting at a new one's home in Sector 4 where the entire family except the head of the family, a brother in the church life, is yet to fully receive and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. They have been joining the home meeting and have called upon the name of the Lord many many times. Gradually, the Lord is saving His chosen ones for His testimony in the midst of the local inhabitants.

Lord, bless Your move in North India.

Paying the Price to Gain Christ

God’s plan in creating man in His image and according to His likeness is that, God could come into man, live in man, and that man could express and represent God on this earth. This plan of God was partially fulfilled in Genesis as Jacob was transformed to Isreal and expressed God. In addition, Joseph, after passing thtough many sufferings, reigned in life, literally ruling over the entire Egypt at his time. 

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. (Genesis 1:26, RecVer)

From the reigning aspect of the life of Joseph, we could see that to gain food, four kinds of price need to be paid. The people who came to Joseph for food paid four kinds of prices: their money, their cattle, their land, and themselves.  These four items cover all the prices we need to pay today. When we pay with our money, cattle, lands, and ourselves, we receive all four types of supply. Money represents convenience, cattle represents the means of livelihood, and land represents the source of supply. And finally, the giving of their lives for food represent the consecration of one's life fully to the Lord.

And there was no food in all the land, for the famine was so very severe that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. And Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. And when the money from the land of Egypt and from the land of Canaan had been spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph saying, Give us food, for why should we die in your presence? For our money is gone. And Joseph said, Bring your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone. And they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses and for the flocks of sheep and for the herds of cattle and for the donkeys; and he fed them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. And when that year had ended, they came to him the second year and said to him, We cannot hide from my lord that our money has been spent, and the herds of cattle are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord except our bodies and our lands. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will become servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate. (Genesis 47:13-19, RecVer)

In the spiritual application today, we need to consecrate our whole life to the Lord in detail by paying the four kinds of prices. This entails our consecration in giving up all that we have, only to gain Christ as life. Surely, many things that we love and many things convenient to us may be exchanged for gaining Christ as our food and life. Our paying the price to come to the word of God, spending time in prayer, attending the various church meetings, preaching the gospel, and shepherdig the new ones, are different aspects of paying the price. No pay, no gain. No price, no value. 

In the conclusion of the Life-study meeting on Genesis last Tuesday, we learned and fellowshipped this important matter to all the saints so that we all can pay the price to gain Christ. Only in this way, can we gain Christ and be constituted with Christ to express Him and represent Him wherever He placed us. What a glorious ending of the Life-study of Genesis!

Lord, grace us to pay the price to gain Christ and be Your expression and representation in this earth.

Burden for Fasting Prayer

As the Lord moved through the early Christians, the enemy also did his best to frustrate the Lord’s move as it was, and is, and will always be a spiritual warfare between Satan and God. Today, especially in North India, we are facing the same spiritual battle. This time, the battle is so fierce that we can visibly see the fight. Four sisters and two brothers were imprisoned for the gospel sake in Noida a few months ago, and a month later,  five brothers were imprisoned in Mathura, also again for the sake of the gospel. In the midst of this, many many things transpired in the lives of the saints in the churches in North India especially. The family members of the imprisoned saints went through untold hardship. Yet, the Lord in His mercy has been preserving each of them to date. Because of this raging spiritual battle, the Lord also taught us many life lessons. In this battle, the enemy has been trying his best to create turmoil in the church life through some weaker saints. It has become very obvious when the family members gathered together for an update concer ing the situstion and steps taken, complaining and murmuring came out of some of the saints' mouth. But the Lord is the Victor and He will lead this battle into victory. Because of this, to shepherd the saints, we have been encouraged to study Acts 12 with the help of the Life-study. Last Saturday, we read this message in the brothers' fellowship and also in the prayer meeting and prayed a strong in one accord. 

This incident also reminded us to pray unceasingly. So, we fellowshipped to strengthen our personal prayer life and also our corporate prayer life. And we also encouraged the saints to fast and pray atleast once in a week. Yes, fasting prayer not in a religious ritualistic way, but fasting prayer in a way of life led by the Spirit with burdens from the Lord. Now, the saints have picked up the burden of prayer, even fasting prayer, having realised the significance of prayer in times of engaging in intense spiritual battle. 

The goal of fasting prayer is for the strengthening of the saints, the churches, and the Lord's move. So that, God can have His free way to move in an intensified way, ushering in the growth in life and maturity of the saints to be overcomers and also for the spreading and multiplication of His word all over India, especially, North India.

From this coming week, all the saints are encouraged and some have seriously picked the burden to pray and even fast and pray. Praise the Lord! Out of seemingly confused situation, the Lord brought out something precious, the practice of persistent prayer. 

Lord, gain our payer life! Make us all a man of prayer.

Excerpt from the Life-study of Acts, Message 34.

A BATTLE BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN

There are a number of other matters in Acts 12:1-24 that we need to consider. First, when Peter was in prison, “prayer was being made fervently by the church to God concerning him” (v. 5). This indicates that behind the scene there was a battle between spiritual forces, a battle between God and His enemy, Satan. Apparently the conflict was between Herod and Peter; actually it was between God and His enemy. No doubt, Herod was instigated by Satan. Satan was behind him and even within him. Therefore, the church fought the battle with God against Satan, the evil one.

This battle was fought not by the flesh but by prayer. The church prayed, and the weapon used by the church to defeat Herod and the spiritual force behind him was not of the flesh but of the Spirit.

THE WORD OF GOD GROWING AND MULTIPLYING

Finally, 12:24 says, “But the word of God grew and multiplied.” The previous verse says that Herod was eaten by worms and expired. Then this verse begins with “but.” Herod expired, but the word of God grew. The word of God is actually the Lord Himself because the word is the container of the Lord. Therefore, for the word of God to grow actually means that the Lord grew.

Acts 12:24 says that the word of God not only grew but also multiplied. The word does not grow and multiply in itself. Rather, the word grows with the believers and multiplies with the church. When the believers grow, the word within them grows. When the churches multiply, the word multiplies within the churches. The fact that the word of God grew and multiplied indicates that in ancient times the believers and the churches were filled with the word and were one with the word. This is a strong sign of the Lord’s victory in His battle against the evil one.

God, My Only Source of Service

As I pursued the Lord by pursuing the word of God, I was so supplied by the ministry of word concerning the pattern in the mountain. I saw an unrefutable spiritual principle that all Christians must follow. That is,  to follow the pattern in the mountain. That is, to do exactly what God had commanded, not less, not more, but exactly according to God’s words. To do anything lesser or beyond would be an act of disobedience, and to not do at all would be an act of rebellion. O how careful and serious we must be in serving the Lord. The excerpts from below helped to see this truth clearly and change the way I take God’s word and serve God. 

Therefore, I concluded that to serve God one must first of all be crystal clear about God’s clarion call. And then consecrate oneself fully to serve God according to His calling. God only must be the source of our service to Him. Any other way, at best is just voluntary and at worst, lawlessness.

Lord, preserve me in my service to serve You exactly according to Your calling. For You are My only source of life, life supply,  and service. Save me from anything other than You, O Lord!

In spiritual work, the most important thing is to know the “ pattern...in the mountain” (Heb. 8:5). There are many things that are important in spiritual work; the lack of any one of them causes our work to lose its spiritual usefulness and brings about God’s displeasure. But among these many things, the most important one is the “pattern...in the mountain.” The pattern in the mountain is simply God’s plan. If there is no comprehension of God’s plan, there is no possibility for God’s work.

“Whatever He says to you, do” (John 2:5b). 

In the Body of Christ, we are just members; we have to be absolutely under the control of the Head.

“Holding the Head” (Col. 2:19).

Psalm 19:13 says, “Keep Your servant from presumptuous sins; Do not let them have dominion over me; Then I will be blameless and cleared of great transgression.” 

God knows what He wants. All the things that He wants from us are revealed either through the Bible or through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, whatever He has not said is simply work He does not want. In spiritual work it is not a matter of quantity, but a matter of measuring up to the standard of being useful to God and matching His desire.The most important task for a worker of Christ is to know exactly what God wants him to do and the time and method that he should use to carry it out.

The most glorious thing in a man’s life is that he would do the things that God wants him to do on the very ground that God has set for him. For every believer, there is a pathway predetermined by God for him to walk on.

God only uses men chosen by Him to do His work. He does not want those who enlist and volunteer to do His work. Those who are chosen by God have absolutely no freedom. If they try to be free and go their own way, they will only stumble and suffer more.

Today we bear a heavy responsibility; we must be crystal clear about God’s instructions before we start working. Before we receive God’s command, we must do absolutely nothing. God’s command is an expression of God’s desire. If we want to be a useful vessel in His hands, we must secure God’s command before acting. If we do anything which God has not commanded, we cannot please Him.

May God bring us to a stage where there is no self, so that we will have no thought of our own, but will only have God’s will. Every time we work, we must first know if it is God’s will or not. If we know for certain that this is God’s will, then we should be encouraged to proceed according to the pattern He has shown us.

Excerpt from The Pattern in the Mountain, ch.8, The Present Testimony (2) CWWN, vol.9

Training in Chandigarh

In 2014, in coordination with the FTTA (full-time trainees in Anaheim, USA), we propagated in the city of Chandigarh for a month. From day one till the end, we witnessed the work of the Holy Spirit in manifold ways, especially in gospel preaching and bringing sinners to salvation and water baptism every day. Then, at the end of the one-month propagation, the church in Chandigarh was raised up! Last weekend, from 8 to 10 November, we had a serving ones training in  Chandigarh. Paradoxically, it was after a decade for me to meet with the church again despite being involved in the raising up of the church a decade ago. Well, the reason being, I took my hands off, if I was not assigned by the Lord through the fellowship in the Body to continue to come for the shepherding. Though many other saints have been frequenting this city for shepherding, for me it was a visit after a decade. Thank God that the church belongs to Him and He has been faithfully shepherding the saints in this city, I was especially glad to see the leading brothers and some of the key saints who have been serving faithfully for the Lord's testimony to date. Praise the Lord for the church in Chandigarh!

During this three-day training, the Lord's hand has been working on me deeply. It was a real training in deed, not merely in words. Though there were eight messages, a respeaking of the recent Oct ITERO 2024 messages on living in the reality of the Kingdom of God, to me it was an "operational message." The messages I have heard are now operating in my being to deal with myself, flesh, and natural man. At this age and in this stage of my Christian life, this is what I need. The Lord's hand is dealing with me to fulfill the purpose of the training. This is a sign that the Lord is the living God and He has been operating in me through His word!

Hebrews 4:12For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

When the Lord's hand operates in me, I simply and fully surrender myself to the Lord, giving Him the full ground to touch every part of my inward being. He knows me best. He is my best Physician. I simply submit myself to His operating hand as a patient patiently. This is the price I am paying. I worship and thank the Lord for his sovereignty in loving me and dealing with me. I pray that He will continue to work on me and accomplish the work that He has started. I want to be His overcomer so that He may deal with everything that needs to be dealt with now. O Lord Jesus!

Outwardly, I simply followed all the brothers' arrangements and enjoyed their service. Whereas ten years ago, I was laboring very much for almost all practical arrangements for the one-month propagation. From planning to execution, I was involved in almost every minute detail. But this time, I enjoyed the arrangement of the brothers in the church in New Delhi and Chandigarh. I receive the perfecting work of the Lord in me inwardly instead. According to the need of the time, the Lord does His work in me. I believe the purpose of the training for me was accomplished. Praise the Lord!