Testimony

Coordination in the Body in one accord commands the Lord's blessing. 

On the 6th of Feb 2013, while we were in a gospel meeting, a brother nudged me to  give a testimony of how I received the Lord as there were new believers and gentiles in the meeting. Without a moment of thought I obeyed, and as I stood to testify when, how and where the Lord saved me, I experienced the Spirit's filling like a rushing wind. Every word or sentence I testified was strongly attested with the Lord's anointing and became a testimony in itself. 

The testimony covered the experience of the Lord in His convicting me of sins and hypocrisy while on my knees repenting, and the word in Matthew 13 concerning the rocky soil of hidden sins, and the forgiveness of God by virtue of the Lord's precious shed blood and His assurance of salvation by the joy of His inward presence and the CHANGE and transformation that followed suit inwardly and outwardly with a real life testimony of two incidents of deliverance from worldly music and romantic affairs were so strong, and as I testified, the Lord led me to turn the whole thing to a gospel message. Then I turned to the gospel friends and asked them if the would like to experience the very Jesus I have been experiencing, they were so subdued and open to receive the Lord, and agreed to the query. The Lord further led me to let them kneel with me on the floor and prayed the sinners' prayer, in Hindi; confessing and believing into the Lord Jesus Christ to receive Him as their Savior and only God, which they willing did. And further on, to be baptised into the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, into the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, which also they willing did. Such was the impact of the Spirit's move that non can deny. All these is the answer to the Body's prayer and commanded blessing upon the coordination of brothers serving in one accord.

Lord, keep us in You ever;  in oneness with You and Your Body as Your testimony.

The Lord's Presence

The Joy of the Lord is my strength. Nehemiah 8:10

It was barely a week ago, while propagating in Chandigarh with the saints from FTTND and FTTA, that the Lord was answering the prayer of the Body, in the Body, for the Body, that we all felt the strong move of the Holy Spirit, issuing inwardly in our being filled with the Spirit and outwardly in the preaching of the gospel bringing people to salvation and baptising them everyday. Besides, the coordination among all was so sweet and the sovereign arrangement of God in all outward physical environment was aptly conducive for the announcing of the resurrected and ascended Jesus Christ as the gospel, all these confirmed the work of the Lord in His heavenly ministry through the members of His Body on the earth. The set goals were more than fulfilled, proving Himself again His faithfulness in His works, time and again. Though the enemy hates His move and did his funny stunts here a little there a little, he fought himself a losing battle as the victory was already won long before the battle began. Yes, to the Lord's work, what can we say, but "Amen" with a triumphal sounding "Halleluijahs!"

Particularly, I experienced the Lord intimately a lot. One night the Lord's presence filled me so much so that I woke up to intimately fellowship with the Lord throughout the night. His presence engulfed me, and while responding to His intimate visit, He confirmed His faithfulness in that He would fulfill in time everything He has promised or burdened me concerning His work. That was indeed a friend fellowshipping with a friend. O how sweet the presence of the Lord!

In every step, in every decision, the timely leading of the Lord is marvelous and His leading corresponds with the leading in the Body. This, not for my personal spirituality, but for me to be blended and builded up in the Body with other members. O the joy of the Lord. The Joy of the Lord, indeed, is my strength. Nehemiah 8:10

God's Speaking

"The things God has cleansed do not make it common," was the repeated speaking of God to apostle Peter. Acts. 10:15

Peter lived and walked with Jesus physically, received the essential and economically Spirit on the night of the Lord's resurrection and on the day of Pentecost respectively. Was powerful and fruitful in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, saving three thousands on his first preaching, and many works of wonders occurred through him, even miracles, healings and many other manifestation of being with the Holy Spirit. Still, he was a saved Jew, a fisherman who followed the Lord instantly and also left Him instantly, promised big words and yet failed them all. He was still a man with flesh and blood, filled with natural, religious constitution. So the Lord had to take him into a trance and showed him vision against the old and degraded dietary law of the Jews, to initiate His move towards and among the gentiles. Peter would reason with God based on his natural concept, background and constitution. These became a frustration for the Lord's move. So God had to speak audibly over and over again.

This reminds me of my urgent need to be fully and thoroughly reconstituted with Christ. Whatever my natural or religious or spiritual constitutions be, I must shed all these skins,  and be renewed day by day to hear the Lord's fresh speaking and leading. Never to bank on my past experiences, however good they may be. But ever open to the Lord for His speaking now and then. The speaking of the Lord is all that matters.

Lord, speak to me everyday, anoint my ear to hear what the Spirit would speak to me. 

God Seeking

Cornelius, a devout and one who feared God with all his household, giving many alms to the people and beseeching God continually. Acts 10:1,2. Even a gentile sought for God ardently, and an angel of God came to him and said, "Your prayers and your alms as a memorial have ascended before God v.4." These verses prove that God is righteous to all, and listens and answers and compensates the genuine seeker of God.

What a gentile testimony! Devout, feared God with all his household! Even many believing families doe not have a household fearing of God, but this gentile! Gave alms, I guess, mostly to the needy, and beseeching God continually! I dare ask how many believers cared for the poor and sought God continually. This is no mere religiosity or superstition. Its genuine! For God have to even send angel to convey His acceptance of all his deeds. Though good deeds don't save, still it reflects the heart and attitude of a person towards God. A proper and genuine seeking heart is needed.

No wonder, many believers today believed because they sought for God; though some may be otherwise. The general case is, if any sought for God genuinely, God appeared to them and saved them. The seeking heart is a prepared heart for God. On the contrary, many who were not seeking for God also were never saved. They are self satisfied and complacent towards God and God seems to be far away from them.

Even after believing, this seeking heart is still needed, to grow more in the Lord until maturity. These days the speaking of the Lord to the church is for more growth in the divine life. For a proper growth, a genuine seeking heart is needed. A heart that is hungry for God and thirsty for Him everyday. Without this, even if God has to bless, it would avail to nothing. When one is seeking, he pays any price to gain God, to gain Christ and to be fully saturated with Him. Today, many have invested or rather spent a lot for health, good living, good education, and many other things mostly for the soul and the body. Yet only few paid attention to spiritual growth and maturity. If we have to spend even just 10% of what have been spent for the physical needs and psychological satisfaction, for the spiritual growth there will be tremendous growth. This reflects ones attitude towards God and His seeking heart.

Lord, give me a seeking heart to seek You and You only and ever only You.

A Living Sacrifice

I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. Rom. 12:1

Last Lord's day, as we had the church's service fellowship, the speaking of the Lord was so clear. For the church service and for the fulfillment of His purpose on the earth, God needs us, the believers. Without us, God has no way, and without Him we have no way either. On His part He had accomplished whatever was and is needed, but on our part, we have to cooperate with Him. 

As we pray-read this verse, the Lord enlightened me concerning the human part. On God's part, he had so much compassions (plural), on us; He chose us, selected us, redeemed us, forgiven our sins, purchased us, washed us, cleansed us, justified us, and so forth. What is required of us is to present our bodies to Him; not just me, an individual, but many of us; many bodies presented to Him. If our physical bodies were not presented to Him how can He make use of us? As we present our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice, we don't present a slain body to Him, we present a living bodies, unlike the old testament. The presented bodies (plural) become a living sacrifice (singular.) The footnote of the Recovery Version helped me a lot:

In Greek, bodies here is plural and sacrifice is singular. This indicates that, although many bodies are presented, they become one sacrifice, implying that, although we are many, our service in the Body of Christ should not be many individual services, separated and unrelated. All our service should constitute one whole service, and this service must be unique because it is the service of the one Body of Christ.

http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=4010

And this living sacrifice is holy, sanctified by Him and is well pleasing to God. This is our reasonable service. Not a service of a bi sacrifice. Just the required and reasonable service.

Be burning in spirit v.11a

A presented body, a transformed soul, and a burning spirit — all three are indispensable to a proper church life. After we have presented our body for the church life, it is very easy for us to fall into the opinions of our mind in our soul, which results in our being damaged in the church life; therefore, our soul, and particularly the mind of our soul, needs to be transformed. However, once our mind is transformed, we may easily fall into a negative and dormant state. At that time we must be burning in spirit that we may be stirred up and encouraged to go on in the church life in a positive way.

http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=4030

Serving the Lord v.11b

Serving as a slave! When we present ourselves to the Lord, we must just serve as slave. A slave does not complain, reason or argue. He just serves. Whether appreciated or rewarded, he just serves. This is the need of every serving ones. Its very possible to serve as a "master", or even as "men pleaser" serving before men, not only before God. A slave knows nothing, expect nothing, but just serves.

This is the timely speaking of the Lord today, at least, to the church in Gurgaon. Lord, make us all Your proper serving ones, to cooperate with Your heavenly ministry today.

The Brand of Jesus

Galatians 6:17 Henceforth let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the brands of Jesus.

The marks branded on slaves to indicate their owners. With Paul, a slave of Christ (Rom. 1:1), the brands were physically the scars of his wounds received in his faithful service to his Master (2 Cor. 11:23-27). Spiritually, they signify the characteristics of the life that he lived, a life like the one the Lord Jesus lived on this earth. Such a life is continually crucified (John 12:24), does the will of God (John 6:38), does not seek its own glory but the glory of God (John 7:18), and is submissive and obedient to God, even unto the death of the cross (Phil. 2:8). The apostle followed the pattern of the Lord Jesus, bearing the brands, the characteristics of His life. In this he was absolutely different from the Judaizers.

http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=5467

This morning the Lord spoke to me on "the brands of Jesus." Paul was a pattern who took the Lord Jesus as his pattern and lived Him. He belonged to Jesus and was identified with the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Such was the life, and such is the life we have to live today. This is a God-man living. This kind of living is needed for God to move through, to accomplish His eternal purpose.

A new revival can be brought in by such a God-man living, bearing the brands of Jesus. When others see us they see Jesus living again on the earth. Our words, our walks and our works testify that we bear the brands of Jesus. We become a living, walking and talking Bible for others to read. We are just the many grains produced from the one grain, the Lord Jesus Christ. In life and in nature, we are just the same as He, but not in the Godhead. This kind of living is the work of God; the work and the person are one. This is the God-man life, bearing the brands of Jesus. Such living issues in the shepherding of others for the building up of the Body of Christ. Personally revived first, and spreads to the whole family and to the whole church. Bringing in a genuine revival that builds up the Body of Christ which will ultimately bring the Lord Jesus back. This is the genuine revival, out from the living of a God-man life, bearing the brands of Jesus, that God wants, to fulfill His eternal purpose on earth.

With this inspiration, the meeting of the church today was so living, the burdens so clear. It was a clarion call to all, to live such a God-man life. Though in numbers we were few, but the anointing and the speaking of the Lord through the saints' prophesying was so rich. Not just one, but almost all saints spoke the same thing, the same burden with the same spirit in the same flow for the same goal of building up the Body of Christ. This truly indeed is the Lord's recovery of the church life.

Lord, revive us everyday, bearing Your brands, Your testimony.

The Way

Acts 9:2 And asked for letters from him to Damascus for the synagogues, so that if he found any who were of the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

The Way:

Denoting the Lord's full salvation in God's New Testament economy. It is the way God dispenses Himself into the believers through Christ's redemption and the Spirit's anointing; it is the way the believers partake of God and enjoy God; it is the way the believers worship God in their spirit by enjoying Him and follow the persecuted Jesus by being one with Him; and it is the way the believers are brought into the church and built up into the Body of Christ to bear the testimony of Jesus (cf. notes 22 151 and 211 in 2 Pet. 2).

http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=3124

As I was studying this verse, the Lord enlightened me of the THE WAY. The believers in Jesus Christ were known as those who were of the Way. Indeed, it was, and it is and will ever be, as the very God incarnated Jesus Christ is the only and one unique way. The way to God's full salvation, the way God reaches man and man contacts God, the way to experience and enjoy God, the way to know the true and living God, the way God mingles with man and becomes one with God, and the way to fulfill God's eternal purpose. This is THE WAY. And there is no other way, other than the Way, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.

The Way:

The way for man to enter into God is the Lord Himself. Since the way is a living person, the place to which the Lord brings man must also be a person, God the Father Himself. The Lord Himself is the living way by which man is brought into God the Father, the living place. The way needs the reality, and the reality needs the life. The Lord Himself is the life to us. This life brings us the reality, and the reality becomes the way by which we enter into the enjoyment of God the Father.

http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=2671

The way is a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ; since the way is a Person the destination of the way is a Person, God Himself. The way is not leading to a place but a Person! People who believed into the Way and walk the path of the Way are the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the destination of walking on the way of the Lord Jesus Christ is a Person, God Himself. Even as they walk on the Way they walked with the Way to reach the Way. This is contrary to religions and their teachings. And to walk on the Way is not a matter of religion, it is walking by faith to fulfill God's eternal purpose. 

The Way is the way one has to take.