Thorn in the Flesh

2 Corinthians 12:

7 And because of the transcendence of the revelations, in order that I might not be exceedingly lifted up, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, that he might buffet me, in order that I might not be exceedingly lifted up.

8 Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

9 And He has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weaknesses that the power of Christ might tabernacle over me.

The Lord sovereignly graced me to experience a little of what brother Paul experienced. To cherish and noursih me, He gave me many heavenly and spiritual experiences with the joy and enjoyment. However, being a young learner, I also need to be balanced in every aspect. Lest I boast of God's grace to my doom. Recent months were full of out-stationed ministry filled with propagations, ministering the word with much life, zeal and full of Spirit, yet all these are just one side of a coin. On the other side of the coin is the exposure of the natural man, the breaking, the dealing and condemnation of the undealt self. Even the Lord's wise assignment of the a thorn in the flesh for every one; a perfect balance for a normal Christian in the normal church life.

Last week, I was confessing to the Lord of my weakness and asking the Lord to strengthen me and remove those weakness from my life completely. I was on my knees, praying for this earnestly. Yet the Lord spoke to me from the above verses, "My grace is sufficient for you.." Actually I asked the Lord to remove the thorn in my flesh, yet the reply was that I needed that thorn in my flesh, perhaps, to remind me of my need for Him moment by moment, realising how weak I am in the flesh and that I cannot live without Him.

This experience is very healthy and balanced. As long as I am in the flesh and blood, there is nothing like sinless perfection. Every day is a matter of looking to the Lord for the daily supply, the desperate need for the Lord in every matter great and small and for the working out of the daily salvation (Phil.2 :12). By this way is the growth from deep within and the transformation and maturity unto the redemption and glorification of the body too.

With this revelation, my begging prayer consummated in praise for the Lord's divine and wise design for every child of His. I was very much comforted and need no longer be a prey to condemnation. Instead, I praised and worshiped Him for the thorn in my flesh.

Serving Tables

The prayer and the ministry of the word in Acts 6:4 is really wonderful, many serving ones would spiritually ambitious be, for this. Yet the Bible reveals another parallel service in the church life, serving tables. Given an option many serving ones would go for the former as it is spiritually and obviously appears more honorable. However, the later, is equally important and must be diligently taken care. The negligence of the later will devoid the former, in fact, without the service of tables, there cannot be the ministry of the word.

Every problem in the Bible and at least, in my experience in the church life, has a root in the matter of serving tables. Acts 6: 1 And in these days, as the disciples were multiplying in number, a murmuring of the Hellenists against the Hebrews occurred, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily dispensing. Nehemiah 5:1,2  And there was a great cry of the people and their wives against their brothers the Jews, For there were some who said, With our sons and our daughters we are many; therefore we must get grain that we may eat and live. When the matter of serving tables is not properly cared for all kinds of problems will arise. For man is a physical being, as long as he is in the flesh and blood, serving tables is a necessity. Ignoring serving tables under the guise of the ministry of the word and prayer is a mere slothfulness. Every servant of God must learn to serve tables well before he begins the ministry of the word. Otherwise, his ministry will be just an "empty vessel making much noise."

Recently, the Lord spoke to me and convicted me on this matter. I must learn to serve in the humanity of Jesus as to minister life in the divinity of Christ. A proper and adequate training and learning in serving tables is utmost important before one can maturely minister the word. Even a thorough learning is needed in menial and humble services including cleaning toilets, sweeping and mopping the floor, arranging chairs for the meeting etc. Void of these basic skills would mean void of subjective experiences of being a serving one.

Lord, let me not be overtly minister of the word without a thorough perfecting in many practical services. Lord, balance me in both these services; serving tables and also ministering the word. Grand me the necessary learning of serving tables and the ministry of the word.

Equality

2 Corinthians 8:

14 But it is out of equality; at the present time your abundance for their alack that their abundance also may be for your lack, so that there may be equality;

15 As it is written, "He who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no lack.''

Recovery Version Note 1: This quotation from Exo. 16 refers to God's heavenly way of balancing the supply of manna among His people, and is applied here to the ministering of material things to the needy saints. Manna was gathered for the daily supply of God's people; they had a sufficient supply no matter how much or how little they gathered. Gathering manna was their duty, and they were to do their duty without being greedy. In like manner, as children of God we should not be greedy or try to preserve our money for ourselves, for whether or not we give, the outcome will be the same, for God in His sovereignty is active to practice a heavenly balancing of the wealth among His people. The result is that He takes care of our daily needs, so that he who preserves much for himself has no excess and he who preserves little for himself has no lack.

The Lord enlightened me this morning to see and know that He is the God of righteousness and justice. Even in the distribution of wealth among His children, He takes care of the poor and the rich alike as in the days of old. He rained manna sufficient enough for all. Those who gathered much had no surplus, those who gathered little had no lack, altogether nullifying any room for greed among His children. Even if there were some who, in greed, have gathered much, it would all rot and bred worms. That's how God balanced His people by the principle of manna.

This has been my experience since I came to serve the Lord. The Lord always took care of my needs, whether great or small. When we have abundance, it is balanced out to those in lack, and when when we are in lack, He supplies from those who are in abundance. When I received so little, I could healthily manage with that much, even when I am blessed abundantly, I still go on as before. Riches or poverty means nothing to me. The joy that comes with it matters most. Often, more joy in lack than in abundance, for joy is not measured by physical things, rather physical things are mostly the cause for loss of joy. When I received that much I also spent that much, and when I receive that less, I spent that less as well. But all the time self-sufficient, all the time joyful with what the Lord has blessed. 

What matters most is, in blessing bounty we must experience and enjoy Christ and remember  the needy saints; and in poverty too, we must experience and gain Christ. Blessing must not be wasted nor poverty. In either case, we must gain Christ. And learn from brother Paul. Philippians 4:12 "I know also how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to black."

Amidst Idols

"...we know that idol is nothing in the world and that there is no God but one."  1 Corinthians 8:4

A rare occasion: In a hospitality by an unbeliever in his room; that was the first time in my life to be accommodated in a room full of idols. Superstition and religious mindset would have prompted me to reject such arrangement but I just took it as from the Lord. Another opportunity to experience the true and living God. I stayed there in the room, spending time in prayer and fellowshipping with brothers and reading the Word of God! In fact, I had a very good sleep and a very good stay. 

Idols are nothing. It's just man made and they are no gods at all. It has no life, lesser than the least germ, at least germs have life. What one needs is life, the divine life of God to live in us and operate in us and through us. If at all there is any evil spirit behind those idols, when a believer is in its midst, all the evil spirits must flee, even though the lifeless idols cannot.  But this is not a justification for idolatry in our lives. Idolatry must be dealt with seriously, by destroying them all, even burning them if they are under our physical control, for they are all falsehood and vanity and counterfeit of the true and living God.

There is only one God, the true living God, who became a man, Jesus Christ, crucified to redeem man from sins, yet resurrected to become the life-giving Spirit, to enter into man, to make man the same as He is, in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. This one God cannot be idolised, imagined to be a good looking man printed in a printing press.  Even the so called "Jesus picture/photo" is an idol, an artist impression or imagination of how he might look like. To possess such, even is also an idolatry. Religion have invented many ritualistic-superstitious idols which became a hiding place for many evil spirits to deceive the novice and ignorant lot. Many have been drugged by religious superstitions and for fear of evil to befall, have wasted much time, money and energy to please the religiously drugged superstitious mind with many rituals and ceremonial oblations supposedly offered to God.

O what a salvation to be delivered for such idolatry, religion and superstition! May the true and living God in Christ as the Spirit deliver us from any form of idolatry. May God save us from the deception of the evil in the form of idols. For we know that idol is nothing in the world and that there is no God but one.  1 Corinthians 8:4

A Joy Ride

My last week trip to Lucknow was a "joy ride" by train under intense heat. The only train available for me was a sleeper class on adjacent berth with the TT. Whatever, everything was arranged by God. Since the train started I was reminded by the Lord that the gospel must be preached to someone. As we began the journey amidst some quarrelsome  and noisy passengers, there was an engineering student who became a prey to my gospel. I shared the gospel of Jesus Christ to him and later he called on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I also gave him some advice on educational matter as he himself was so confused with his own career. That turned out to be His first time to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Indeed, for his salvation the Lord put us together on the same train, on the same coach and adjacent berth!

My return journey was quite much the same. Perhaps, it was my carelessness, or perhaps, the smartness of picketers? I lost my wallet. This almost triggered anxiety within me. But the Lord immediately calmed me down and just asked me to trust in Him in situation like this, when I had no money for anything. Though I asked my coach mates if they had seen it, and I did some searched for sometime, yet all to no avail. Just before I was to sleep, a co-passenger enquired about my fate. This gave me an opportunity to speak to him, make friend with him and shared my testimony and the gospel of Jesus Christ. By the way, without my asking, he handed me a metro card for me to commute from Delhi to Gurgaon. That's the Lord's provision. Meanwhile, I also learned some deep lesson concerning money matter; I should not be selfish and should not love money. Instead, use it for the Lord's purpose and also whenever and wherever needed.

Above all, the Lord is sovereign. There was nothing to panick or anxious about. The Lord is the Lord and he heads up all. This trip was a lesson to me and a joy ride to Lucknow.

Divine Sense of Value

You cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16:13b

Mammon stands in opposition to God as much as Satan does; for Satan is behind and within mammon. As being born a sinner into this world of sin, none is immune from the sting of mammon. The only nutralising effect is afforded by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus only in salvation, a man is beginning to be healed from the poisonous mammon. However, it takes a while; a constant growth, dealing and maturity to be released from the love of mammon. The way to be thus released is to love the Lord more than anything, by seeing the supremacy of the excellency of Christ, giving our hearts and our entire being to Him. Thereby issuing in change of concept of value, having the divine sense of value, valuing Christ and only Christ alone. Paul testified, "..I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse that I may gain Christ" (Phil. 3:8b). 

Moreover, Christ has a Body, if one values Christ, he must also value the church, as Christ is the Head of the church, and the church and Christ are one. Treasuring the value of Christ, one must also treasure the worth of the church as the church is bought by Christ's own blood, "..the church of God, which He obtained through His own blood" (Acts 20:28b). Having loved both, Christ and the church and giving our all for both, will usher in the deliverance from the love of mammon. As Paul further testified that he spent and was utterly spent for the church. 

Having a divine sense of value, seeing the supreme preciousness of Christ and the exceeding worth of the church will change our concept of value making us treasure Christ and the church more than anything else which further issues in spending all that we have and spending all that we are, for Christ and the church, will deliver us from the love of mammon and be absolutely for God's interest on this earth.

Today, in the prophesying meeting, the speaking of the Lord was very strong concerning this matter, after which, the church had a strong prayer for the absolute love for the Lord and His Body and a complete consecration to spend and be spent for Christ and the church, having a divine sense of value and be delivered from the love of mammon, for the fulfillment of God's purpose on the earth.

Death for Life

2 Corinthians 4:12  So then death operates in us, but life in you.

Recovery Version Note 1: When we are under the killing of the Lord's death, His resurrection life is imparted through us into others. The impartation of life into others is always the issue of our suffering the killing of the cross.

These days I have been experiencing the subjectivity of what Paul had experienced as a minister in the New Covenant ministry. If life has to be imparted, there must be a release of life; and life is released through death only. No crucifixion, no resurrection; no resurrection, no life impartation. Therefore, for the release of life, there must be the suffering of the killing of the cross.

The cross comes in many ways, sent by God as He deemed best. No one can create the cross nor crucify himself at the cross. It comes our way whenever needed. Only  the Father knows when and how the cross should be experienced. Our only responsibility is to accept it willingly when it comes and faithfully be crucified trusting in His grace; then this will issue in the richness of life impartation.

The condition of the saints in the church where I am, and my own condition is a fair experience of the cross these days. The local church where I am today is the best training ground for me, to learn and learn lessons of life. The best training is the one with the toughest and highest standard; even those that despaired their own living. The deepness of dealing determines the sweetness of the life issue. With this intensity of desperation I cry out to the Lord more desperately for more spiritual blessings as well as the blessing in the increase of saints number. The Lord is reminding me again and again to faithfully take care of what we have now and the rest He will bless. O what a grace!

So, dread not I, facing the devil's darts,

The shield of faith swallows the darts away.

Swirling the Spirit's sword in this martial art,

In fear and defeat, the devil sway.