Glorious Church

Last night as I was considering the local church where I am, Gurgaon, and the brothers who were recently recovered into the fellowship of the Body wanting to visit us to see the church life, I felt that the church life in my locality may not be as vital and impressive in many human perspectives. But the Lord immediately reminded me that the church is glorious, irrespective of the condition of the saints or the church per se. The church belongs to the Lord, and the saints are lovely and beautiful. Only the self is ugly.

I was rebuked by my own word concerning the church. The church in Corinth is of God and in spite of all their problems, it is still the church. The church in my locality does not have any of the problems as in Corinth; comparatively it is much much better. My natural consideration was a matter of the degree of "impressiveness." However, in the Lord's view, the church is glorious. I was so much helped and adjusted in my prayer.

Moreover, the Lord is fulfilling the burdens He has for the church to prepare pillars for the Lord's testimony. All the situation of the brothers considered to be potential pillars are confirming that they will be prepared and perfected as they are for the testimony of Jesus as the expression of the Body of Christ. The Lord is working all things together good for the gaining of His glorious church.

Today in the Lord's table meeting, as a confirmation of what the Lord spoke to me last night regarding the glorious church, my eyes were enlightened to see the saints in a very positive way. I felt all the saints were so precious, sweet and lovely. Every member was a treasure and precious to the Lord; and all members are pillars for the church. They are treasures as Christ is the treasure in these vessels.

Hallelujah for Christ the treasure in the earthen vessels for the glorious church! 

Forgiving

Almost two months ago I was in Imphal for the churches in NE India training. On the day of my arrival the first thing on my heart was to pray for the training. But the Lord reminded me to deal with a brother's debt and forgive him once for all, and forget the matter altogether. Initially it was hard, but as the Lord graced me, the blessing of the Lord has been bountiful to me. Then I told the Lord, I forgave. Following this I felt the Lord's anointing and His presence. Since then, beginning with the first message, the Lord's instant speaking flowed out like fountain of living waters.

The incident in detail was as such : 

The Lord reminded me of a debt that I have not forgiven nor are willing to forget. It was concerning a brother who could not pay for his flight ticket, yet still promised to pay and  never paid, nor the brother who arranged the trip for him paid either. Since none could pay, the lot fell on me and they were rescued. This has been going on for two years and yet no further development. Later, that new brother’s locality had some problems and the testimony was lost. Literally, there was no blessing in that locality; they could not withstand the tests.

On that day, the Lord reminded me that I need to forget about all the past and forgive the brothers who “cheated” me. I said, “amen.” The Lord is the Lord, He knows the best and His decision is final.

Further, the Lord enlightened me that His blessing was not there with those brothers and even with the “church.” For there is no testimony in their lives, of the Lord, nor the blessing of the Lord. Somehow, somewhere, something went wrong. That was the enemy’s subtle work. The Lord also reminded me to pray for those brothers that their functions may be restored and the testimony of the Lord Jesus be recovered.By all these incidents, the Lord was hitting two birds with one stone; on the one hand He was perfecting me and on the other hand He was trimming the burned wick of the Lampstand.  

Lord, have mercy on us; recovery the lost ones, strengthen the weak ones and supply the needy ones for the sake of Your testimony.

Spiritual Discipline

There has been an unseen war waging behind our Christian lives. Often in ignorance, we are least bothered what's going on in our Christian lives. But recently the Lord gave me a very subjective experience of such spiritual warfare going behind the scene, especially stronger when new cities or new believers have to be gained for the Kingdom of God. The spiritual atmosphere of a place is very much dependent on how much the saints have prayed for it. And for this there is a need for spiritual discipline especially in prayer. To borrow a phrase from Andrew Murray, to be "With Christ in the School of Prayer." If Christians are not disciplined in their prayer life there will be too many loopholes and life leakages, and Satan's basic strategy is to make sure believers does not pray or at least make them too busy to pray. Again, quoting Andrew Murray, "He who does not set time to pray, also does not pray." So here is the need for a disciplined "set time" to pray a very strong, strategic and intercessory prayer. "For our wrestling is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies." Eph.6:12

Last year the Lord burdened me to pray with a brother in Shillong over the phone almost everyday, and we did it faithfully for about four months. In prayer the Lord had prepared us in spirit, and many thing had transacted between us. When we finally met this year for the first time, we were just in one spirit and our fellowship was so sweet, just in one flow. All the hurdles had been dealt with through prayers already and when we met it was just the harvest of what had been already sown. This led to the recovery of the brothers and those believes with him into the fellowship of the Body of Christ and into the oneness of the Body of Christ, standing as the church in Shillong, a local expression of the universal Body of Christ. Hallelujah!

Today, I was so disturbed spiritually and the feeling was that I was too weak or too lazy to pray. Immediately I sensed this as the attack from Satan and exercised my free will and also my spirit to pray at least an hour. As I started praying, slowly the flow of life came and I enjoyed the Lord's anointing and the Spirit gave burdens to pray for and even He prayed in my praying. What started off with a determination ended up in the sweet anointing of the Lord. Here's the need for discipline, even to buffet our body, yes, even to win over our soul to spend time with the Lord.

Lord, grant me, by Your grace, a spiritual discipline, especially in my prayer life.

Building Up

So then let us pursue the things of peace and the things for building up one another. 

Let each of us please his neighbor with a view to what is good for building up. 

Romans 14:19;15:2

The Lord deeply impressed me on these verses concerning building up. Never in my Christian life did I give more importance to building up. The Lord in His mercy is leading me through and through. The building up of one another is of utmost important for the Lord's testimony. Mere spirituality with all pious pursuits without proper and adequate building up will only hamper the growth of the Body. Enough tearing down of God's work have been witnessed among spiritual people who are never builded up with one another. The more spiritual a person is, the more individualistic he tends to be and the more independent he becomes, so much so that, he can hardly be built up with any one. However, in the Lord's recovery of life and by life, I am very much blessed to be balanced in every aspect of my Christian life.

In our church life, we must pay attention to the building up; whatever we say or do must all be for the building up. No longer merely on the realm of right and wrong, of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but on the ministry of life for the building up of one another to build up the organic Body of Christ. This is the purpose of our Christian life in the church life. Minus building up, all is vanity, even spiritual matters; for all gifts and the gifted ones are "For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ- Eph.4:12."

Lord, build me up with others and deal with every barrier that hinders the building up.

Ministry of Life

2 Cor. 3:6 Who has also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The recent Serving Ones Training message on "Ministry of Life" impressed me so much. As new covenant ministers, our ministry is of the Spirit that gives life. What a blessing! Such ministry is constituted of all that Christ is, richly experienced and enjoyed by us. With this constitution, Christ can be ministered into others for the building up of the Body of Christ. In this ministry, there is the full supply of life from the fullness of life constituted into the being of the minister, this life is the eternal life received of God the Father.

As such a minister, I enjoyed the grace from God in experiencing such a ministry. The whole training time in the NE was very enjoyable. I sensed the supply of life, message after message. The speaking of the Lord was so rich. The aftermath of this training was more enjoyable. Day by day, for one whole week, the Spirit's leading was very strong as I visited and fellowshipped with different brothers and families. The anointing, the presence of the Lord and the instant speaking of the Lord through the word was very strong. Brothers forgave their offenses and debts; doubts, suspicions and questions about the ministry were cleared up; brothers and sisters who were not clear about their Christian lives and purpose were helped and got baptised; and even some who lived in secret sins were convicted and repented and consecrated to begin a new life for the church life; and besides all, I enjoyed the rich supply of life, day by day. What a blessing, we have the ministry of life!

Lord, preserve me by Your grace in this ministry of life.

Word of Life, Work of Faith

A fellowship with a brother prior to the propagation unlocked the bullet chest that will be used for the spiritual warfare. Though the war wasn't literally fought yet, but it has already been won. Perhaps, its been on the fighting scene, still its a battle in victory, not for victory but a confirmation of the victory already won.

Such spiritual warfare is fought with "words of life" and this warfare is a "work of faith." To release such words of life, one must be filled with the Spirit by being filled with the word of God. There is no special method nor skill required except the word constitution and filling and the out flowing of the same. For, the only thing that can save people is the Lord Himself, expressed in word of life, anointed with the Spirit of God. Only such can convict men of sins, lead men to repentance and bring salvation to men. On the one hand it is the work of God, yet it is also the cooperation of man; for God to flow through man and save man.

This is exactly what we have been experiencing in Jaipur these days; knocking on doors, speaking to strangers and speaking the words of life and saving and baptising them. What a privilege to participate in such moves of God! This is the work of faith.

Contrary to the generic way of the evangelicals or Christianity way of gospel preaching or "church" setting missions, the new way we take is to simply flow out the divine life into people and seek out the "Aquilas and Prescillas" of the city we preach the gospel in and set up home meetings in their homes and raise up the church in their homes, as recorded in the book of Acts. This is the scriptural way, and this is the way we take; the new way as against the old religious way.

For this we go door knocking house by house, city by city, town by town, village by village, cooperating with the seeking Spirit to seek out the lost yet chosen ones, to save them and recover them back to God and His heart's desire. All these, by words of life and work of faith that the will of God may be done on earth as in the heaven and the kingdom of God may come on earth as in the heaven.

Lord, grace us to be filled with the word of life and do the work of faith for the fulfillment of Your economy on this earth.

Sixth Sense

Now faith is the substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Faith substantiates the things of God, the things which we do not see, nor can be sensed by any of the five sense of organs. Many spiritual, divine and eternal things cannot be sensed by our five human sensing organs, but faith can do it. Therefore, faith is the sixth sense. The proper and normal faith is God Himself infused into us to be our faith to substantiate the things we hoped for, as children of God, and are convinced and confirmed of the things God has promised and the Word has conveyed; things we hoped to see yet could not see at the moment.

These days, the propagations of the gospel of the kingdom of God going on in North India specifically, are all works of faith. No human sense has any ability to perceive its accomplishment. The only factor that keeps the goals as achieved, at least for me, is "faith." There is no logical reason nor are there physical bases nor any scientific proofs or evidences to confirm the goals, yet what keeps my hope alive is "faith." 

Certain prayers are "impossible prayers" to man, yet in the eyes of faith, it all have been already accomplished! A week ago I was reconsidering what would actually happen of the recent propagation in Jaipur or Shillong or Kanpur; it was like hitting against a wall. Yet the Lord enlightened me with verses in 2 kings 3:16-19, "Thus says Jehovah, Make this valley trenches, all trenches! For thus says Jehovah, You will not see wind, nor will you see rain; but that valley will be filled with water, and you will drink, as will your cattle and your animals. And this is but a small thing int he sight of Jehovah, for He will deliver Moab into your hand. And you will strike every fortified city and every choice city, and every good tree you will fell, and all the springs of water you will stop, and every fine portion of land you will mar with stones."

These verses, the rhema-living and instant Word of God, are irrefutable proofs that what the Lord has initiated, will by His Spirit's power, be fully and truly be accomplished on time. Hallelujah!

Praise the Lord that as believers we can exercise our sixth sense, faith, which God has infused into us with, to substantiate all that are of Him.

Lord, increase my faith; its functionality in me and infusion into me.