Two Beginnings

The Israelite had two beginnings in their journey towards the promised good land. The first one was the exodus from Egypt, Exodus 13:4 ,"On this day in the month of Abib you are going out." This is the first day of the first month of the first year. This exodus was for their salvation from the tyranny of Pharoah in Egypt after the experience of the Passover Lamb, typifying our Christian experience of salvation from the tyranny of Satan in the usurpation of the world by experiencing the reality of the Passover Lamb, the redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ! That's the Abib of a Christian life! The experience of God's salvation! Every genuine Christian has this experience.

Later, after one year, as in Exodus 40:17, "And in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was raised up." Then the Israelite had another beginning, after building the tabernacle, God dwelt among them in the Tent of Meeting which was the tabernacle to God. From this time forth, it was a step further to fulfill God's desire of having His building among men. In the same manner, this is the Christian experience of co-working with God for the building up of God's house, the Church, the Body of Christ, after the experience of salvation by the Passover Lamb. The former experience is for the later, and without the later, a Christian experience is incomplete. 

Many Christians are just satisfied with salvation by the Passover Lamb, and little do they know or live the experience of the building of the tabernacle. They are saved from Egypt but roaming in the wilderness far away from the good land. They need the experience of the practical building up of the house of God which is what a Christian life is for. Apart from this, our Christian life is incomplete. Our first beginning of salvation by the Passover Lamb is for the second beginning of building up of the church as God's dwelling place to fulfill God's purpose on the earth. May the Lord lead all His children into these two beginnings.

Word of Grace

 Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Colosians 4:6


The Lord taught me this morning how I need to be graceful in my words. Its very easy to say a thing intentionally or unintentionally, and hurts others. This morning I spoke a word as a reflex action commenting on something of someone. Though I did not mean to hurt any it has an opposite reaction and the matter worsened as I tried to justify it later. 


A simple innocent sentence uttered in ignorance can mean so serious and striking.  The enemy can interfere easily in any matter. This reminds me of my need to be in my spirit all the time, and speak words of grace out from my spirit even for simple matter. 


As James stated rightly in James 3: 8"But the tongue no one among men is able to tame; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison".  I may put a guard to my mouth that I may not utter hurtful words unintentionally.  Later, as I had a business deal with someone, I was careful and cautious not to add or emphasize my opinion or idea. Let the Lord rule over the matter. Though I feel a little defeated for not putting forth my feelings and have to kind-of oblige to the other party's say, I learned to trust in God in this small matter and let Him take control. I peacefully let things go. Deep within as I pondered over the matter, the Lord seemed to confirm that giving matter to the Lord is the best I could do and its up to Him to deal with it.  Most of the time when I cling onto my own ways its always a curse, and its a blessing whenever I let things go and the Lord take over.

Unfruitful?

Mark 4:19 And the anxieties of the age and the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts for other things enter in and utterly choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.


Why are so many Christians unfruitful? Even the ones on the service of the Lord? Unfruitful, in the sense of bearing fruits, spiritual fruits, subjectively as the inward experience and enjoyment of Christ and objectively as the increase in bringing sinners to salvation. Normally, a Christian, whether serving full time or part time, by virtue of being a Christian must bear fruits. If this does not happen, it is a warning sign to reconsider our lives and livings before man and before God. Most sadly, the greater danger is not realising that one is fruitless even when he is indeed fruitless and having no feeling about it.  This is recognizably a dead Christian.


This morning as I was on the Word on the parable of the Sower, the Lord spoke to me on how one can become unfruitful. Three things are mentioned in Mark 4:19. 
1. The anxieties of the age
2. The deceitfulness of riches
3. The lust for other things


These entered into a believer and choke the word he has within him as a deposit. These are like worms that eats up whatever a person has eaten of the word. The matter is not in eating or what he has eaten, but in the "worms" that choke the word! Unless the worms are dealt with, however much one eats, all would be nullified. 


A particular worm caught my attention, "lust" for other things. Other things, I believe, are things other than Christ as the reality of all food and drink. This lust is particularly specified in 1 John 2:16 as " Because all that is in the world, the ¹lust of the flesh and the ¹lust of the eyes and the ¹vainglory of  life, is not of the Father but is of the world."
16¹ The lust of the flesh is the passionate desire of the body; the lust of the eyes is the passionate desire of the soul through the eyes; and the vainglory of life is the empty pride, boast, and display of material things, of the present life. These are the components of the world. 
http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=8260

These "lusts" are what chokes the word, and they are the very things all men are surrounded with, and the very tools  Satan uses as baits to hook mankind.  


How does one escape these baits? I find no other solution except in the Lord Jesus Himself, as the life-giving Spirit in our spirit. The moment by moment, daily exercise of the mingled spirit, exercising of our human spirit as in 1 Timothy 4: 7 " But the profane and old-womanish myths refuse, and ⁴exercise yourself unto godliness."

7⁴ As in gymnastics. Unto godliness means with a view to godliness. Godliness is Christ lived out of us to be the manifestation of God (see notes 16² and 16³ in ch. 3). Today this very Christ is the Spirit dwelling in our spirit (2 Cor. 3:17; Rom. 8:9-10; 2 Tim. 4:22). Hence, to exercise ourselves unto godliness is to exercise our spirit to live Christ in our daily life. "

http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=6745

Lord, keep me in my spirit all the time, exercising myself unto godliness. Save me from all things other then You. Lord, deliver me from "lust" and make me fruitful, enjoying You and much more, bearing remaining fruits. Amen.

God's Presence

God promised Moses, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest." And Moses replied, "If Your presence doe not go with us, do not bring us up from here." Exodus 33:14,15

The presence of God means everything. His presence is His person being with. Where His presence is, there He is. His presence is a subjective enjoyment of Himself.

His presence is what we need. It really does not matter what we are, where we are or who we are. Or what kind of job we are doing or what kind of house we live in or what life-style we live. No matter we are in the best or the worst job, with God's presence everything is the best. Of late, the Lord taught me this. That I need His presence more than anything else.

Working in secular job or serving the Lord full time is no different to God. Each has his calling as the sovereign God decides. Even the nature, location, status, pay package of the job doesn't matter much. What matter most is, is God's presence there? If not, brothers, we must cry out for His presence. What is the use of a car without the fuel? What is the use of a house without a home? What is the use of a bed without a sleep? Without God's presence we are just empty shells, having the name without the reality. Perhaps, we are professing Christian without Christ Himself in our lives and living?

This reminds me of a hymn I treasure dearly , "I have learned the wondrous secret "

For my words I take His wisdom,

  For my works His Spirit's power;

For my ways His ceaseless presence

  Guards and guides me every hour.

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/564#ixzz1xZwG78Ml

Of late, I have been shepherding a family who's been looking out for a solution to joblessness and financial crisis. The only fellowship I had with the family was to look to the Lord for His presence. Nature of the job or pay package or job profile is what people look out for. But I told them, not to look at all these outward things. The one and only one deciding factor is, "Is the presence of  God with you in that job?" If yes, just get it, even if the profile is a slave-status and the pay beggarly. People look at "face-value", meaning the outward profundity of the job, but we must look at the "true-value", what really is in there. A ton of trash or a gram of gold? Unit of measurement "gram" is no comparison to "ton", so is "trash" to "gold". Is there God's presence? If so, a pay package of Rs.10,000 with God's presence is a millionth times better and worthier than a pay package of Rs.1,00,000 without God's presence. This is divine mathematics. I have proved it in my life. Riches or wealth or health means nothing. Sometimes, it is better off to have none of these but the presence of God. O the presence of God! 

How can we have it? By abiding in the Vine, the Lord Jesus. By contacting Him in our spirit moment by moment. O the joy of the presence of God! Lord, preserve me in you presence and do not and never take me where Your presence is not.

Bezalel (1)

Bezalel! What a name? Hardly anyone quotes him, much less unheard of. Talk about David or Moses, Abraham, Isaac or Jacob / Israel, they are familiar lot. But who is this insignificant man, Bezalel?

Exodus 31:2-5 See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, the tribe of Judah. And I filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom and with understanding and with knowledge and  with all kinds of workmanship, To fashion skillful designs, to work in gold and in silver and in bronze, And in the cutting of stones for setting and in the carving of wood, to work in all kinds of workmanship.

Bazalel means in the shadow of God, he was a master builder, a leader in God's building, a man under the shadow of God's grace. 

After Jehovah commanded Moses to build the tabernacle He also selected the person who would do the building. Whom He selected He endowed him with His Spirit, with the wisdom required to build exactly as designed. Yes it was Bezalel whom God used, but who gave the skill to Him? It was God Himself.

The building up of the tabernacle, the church, God's dwelling place, is a noble work which every believer should do, yet the ability to do is of God. God said, "And I filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom and with understanding and with knowledge and  with all kinds of workmanship," Otherwise, no man can build God's house. What God intends to build, He also infuses with the building skill.

To fashion skillful designs, to work in gold and in silver and in bronze : To build up the church we must know how to use the divine nature as gold, the redemption of Christ as silver, and God's righteousness judgement as the bronze as the material for our building work. Otherwise, what we build will be natural and unacceptable to God.

 And in the cutting of stones for setting : To cut stones for setting is to help the saints to be transformed into stones and to be adjusted to fit into God's building. 

And in the carving of wood,: To carve wood is to work on the humanity of the saints for the sake of God's building; 

To work in all kinds of workmanship : To work in all kinds of workmanship is to produce finer virtues in human character with uplifted humanity of Christ. 

All these are needed for the building up of the church. And Bezalel has it all! Because God blessed him with all.Having read this my heart longs and prays for the God of building to bless me with all the skill needed in this age to build the building of God. On the one hand, it was and is God who builds, but He builds with man, He does not speak, "Let the tabernacle be!" and the Tabernacle was. No. God needs Bezalel to build. God needs man to build. God needs you and me to build. Lord make us the Bezalel of today!

Authority

These days as I have been studying the word, the Lord reminded me again and again of who He was and how He was and what He was when He was on this earth. Many instances were there confirming of His divine authority being exercised. Sicknesses were healed, demons fled, deaths were raised... He had the authority to command  anything, and was obeyed absolutely. This exposed me of my lack in exercising God's authority. As I have been pondering over this matter of authority, the Lord cherished me with a writing from eManna:

Aspiring to Be a Praying Person 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bible Verses~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

John 15:7  If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask   whatever  you will, and it shall be done for you. 

Isaiah 59:1  Behold, the LORD'S  hand  is not shortened,  that it cannot  save ; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot  hear:  (2)  But your iniquities have separated between you and  your God, and your sins have hid [his] face from you, that  he will not hear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Words of Ministry~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

We need to have the ambition to be a praying person, a  person with power before God. Some people are powerful  before God, while others are not. What does it mean to be  powerful before God? It simply means that God listens to the  person when he speaks. It is as if God is happy to be  influenced by such a one. Some people can influence God.  Being powerless before God means that God does not listen to  the person when he speaks. We must have the desire and the  aspiration to see that God often answers our prayers. We  have to pray to Him, "May every request of ours be pleasing  to Your ears." It is a most glorious thing for God to  incline His ear to us. It is a tremendous thing for God to  trust us to the extent that He can give us whatever we ask.

If you have prayed for a long time and there is still no answer, you should realize that there must be some hindrance. The hindrances always occur because there is sin  in your conscience or there is a problem with your faith.  Before the Lord, we have to confess, deal with, and refuse our sins. At the same time we have to genuinely and fully  trust in God's promises. If we do this, we will see people being saved one by one, and our lives will be full of  answers to prayer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the 
Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, The 
Collected Works...vol. 49, pp. 293-295. Both are published 
by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. 

Take Heed Lest Ye Fall

So then let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 1 Corinthians 10:12

A loving warning to every believer especially to those who devote most of their time to serve the Lord. When taking care of believers, the enemy is never happy, he's been fuming his anger, if possible, to do away with the shepherd as with the sheep. He has his job as roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8) all night and all day. So this warning, take heed lest ye fall.

The Lord has burdened me to shepherd a couple who's on the way to the church life. This couple loves the Lord very much, and their emotions so tender. They just called me if I could visit them and pray with them amidts my busy official duty. On second thought, I felt I should go as I felt the need from the Lord, to take care of the saints' feeling, to strike the iron when its still hot. Procrastinating would only cool them down and may miss the opportunity to minister Christ. I went and prayed together for certain specific matters, which even led them to tears. They were so happy and felt cherished with the human care and nourished with the corporate prayer. O what a joy indeed to mutually care for one another. We are human so we still need human care.

Later in the evening, after official duty, I had a home meeting with an old uncle whom the Lord has miraculously turned from communist ideology to Christ at his old age. The way to shepherd this uncle of my father's age is just to patiently give him an ear to hear what he has to say--whatever, and then I finally hit home the nourishing loving word of scheduling time for prayer, contacting the Lord, reading the word and translating the ministry books, and praying for the salvation of the entire household. That's a real cherishing to him.

Again, afterward, I went for a home meeting with a family who's been struggling in life, physically and spiritually. Among them was a brother who's been filled with confusions and doubts about the basic Christian faith. Having traveled the rough terrain of his Christian path, he had gathered many dusts all along. To him I just used the Bible as the only unique authority that confirms the Christian faith, not feelings or thinking. Objective knowledge of God has clouded his mind without any subjective experience, and that confuses him when what he knows does not match what he is experiencing. I refuted the truth about salvation by faith and the need for touching the Lord in his spirit where Christ is, by daily exercise of calling upon the Lord's Name, praying and eating the word with fellowshiping with the saints in the church. These visit really gave him a new beginning as he confessed he's been helped. May grace lead him through.

Having found grace and supplying strength from the Lord to cherish and nourish others, I myself need much more cherishing and nourishing in return. When shepherding others we are shepherded in return. And the enemy's vile intention is drawn to the uttermost. For it is a spiritual battle, I must be always on the alert. When shepherding others I need to take heed or lest I fall. This is what the Lord reminded. Take heed lest ye fall. Lord, make me heed that I may never fall.