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.

God's Mercy

So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. Romans 9:16

As I was praying and considering before the Lord the propagation coming up in cities like Jaipur, Shillong and Lucknow, humanly speaking, it seems like hitting against the wall; however, the Lord spoke to me this verse, "not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy." What a comfort this rhema word to me it was! If it was a  mere human work, it would indeed be impossible; but the work of God is not of him who wills! Even the human works initiated by man may somehow be accomplished by natural zeal, fleshly strength and soulish skill; but the work of God is not of him who runs! If at all the work initiated by God is accomplished by the Spirit's power through those unworthy "us", then it is purely of God who shows mercy. What a relief this revelation has brought!

The more I prayed concerning the Lord's work in all these cities the more faith He fills me with, and the more peace and joy I have, that the Lord's work has already been accomplished!  As members of the Body, I, by the Lord's mercy, can have a part in it. What a blessing!

As the actual scheduled dates for these cities propagation are approaching, the more I felt the intensity of what the Lord is going to do, and the stiff resistance and subtle attacks from the enemy. Often I had a faint hope I could actually participate in His move; many other official matters seem to hinder me. However, last night I declare out Lord to the Lord and to Satan that I am participating in the Lord's move and that Satan had no ground to touch me in any way. With that declaration, all official matters cleared up today  and finally I could book my ticket. The Lord of Host, Jehovah Sabaoth is His Name! And praise be to Him!

Starting today, phone calls and contacts from these cities started popping up one by one; the Lord is the Victor and we are fighting in His victory. The victory is already won, we are just replaying it. And to partake of this victory is truly and sovereignly, the Lord's mercy: not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 

Lord, have mercy on me!

Divine Blinding

I was in a hurry to renew my passport which was due to expire six months from now. I did my best to renew it as soon as possible even to the point of writing to the chief passport officer, trying to push in every angle possible. Even when I got the appointment online I kept this as my first priority above any other matters. However, I was blind to the fact that the Lord's timing was not yet. 

On the day of the appointment, I mistook the road and was deriving merry-go-round. When I did enter the passport office, I was slowed down at the counter for my marriage certificate verification and was asked to wait. But so impatient I was, I spoke unkindly to the counter and was given an option to meet the passport officer myself for verification. Doing so made the process slower and I was forced to wait even more longer, as the officer was on her lunch break. When she finally came and checked my document, she asked me to attest it from Taiwan embassy in New Delhi. Actually this certificate was already attested but I was blind to that fact; then I cancelled the appointment and came back home only to realize that the certificated was already attested. Disappointed I was for such a simple absence of mind. But behind the scene, was God in control.

The real facts were: 

1. I still had time and need not be too hurry to renew my passport

2. There were two main matters I had to take care instead of my passport; I tried to forego yet the Lord's wisdom would not allow me to. Instead of this, I had to deal urgently with the official matters of the literature service I am involved in and had to go to Jaipur urgently for the preparation work of the gospel. Had I went through the the passport matter I would have missed the weightier matters of things at hand. The Lord knew what was best and gave be divine blinding, so as to take care of the more important and urgent matters than that of my own.

This incident was a real life-lesson to me. First things first, not according to my will or choice, but according to the real need. Even if I had to go ahead with my own strong will, the Lord would block the way and gave me blessed divine blindness so as not to bypass the weightier matters. Praise the Lord for His sovereignty!

Lord, praise You! Never allow anything not out of or according to You. Even if in my folly I went blindly ahead, bless me with the divine blinding, so as not of mine will but yours be done.