Satanic Schemes

"That we may not be taken advantage of by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes." 2 Corinthians 2:11

Satan is no fool in playing with people, especially those of the household of faith. And we should be no fool either to be played fool by him. The Christ within us has defeated him at the cross of Calvary; in fact, he is the defeated foe. Nevertheless, we should not undermine his schemes as he is too crafty the serpent is, and we should be as prudent as the serpent too (Matthew 10:16b).

Last Friday I decided to go forth to preach the gospel in Faridabad and was all ready for the same. But a little official task was pending which I thought would hardly take an hour. But as I did the work it took so much time, hour after hour, to the point that I had to spend the whole day doing the work. Though it was a simple task but I could not let it go as it is my official responsibility to finish important task on time. I knew then, that it was the scheme of Satan trying to withhold me back from preaching the gospel. However, as the official work was being done, I also spent time in the word and enjoyed the Lord's speaking again on the importance of going forth and bearing fruits and that the fruits should remain.(The same was blogged, http://palmeichung.blogspot.in/2016/01/be-fruitful-and-multiply-3.html).

Though I could not for gospel preaching as planned, still I spent time to get into the word and prayer as the work was being done. And later, spent more solid time with the Lord in prayer wherein the Lord reconfirmed many burdens He has given me for this year and the promises He gave.

The next day, I went with all my family for the gospel preaching in Faridabad. Had I gone earlier, my plan was to go alone and stay overnight. But now I could go with my whole family. Praise the Lord! 

And the Lord blessed the gospel preaching as we went house by house, door knocking. Majority of the people we met received the word of God and some called upon the Lord Jesus' Name and prayed the sinner's prayer. And later in the afternoon, we enjoyed two hour long fellowship with two solid brothers whom the Lord confirmed within to shepherd for pillars of the church to be raised up. The anointing of the Lord was rich and sweet as we fellowshipped on the word of God: on the church, the ministry, the Body of Christ, oneness, the ground of oneness, the difference between soul and spirit. It was a wonderful time of propagation and shepherding.

What was planned for myself turned out to be a family matter. Though the scheme of Satan seemed to work, the Lord sovereingly used is for the better. Satan is crafty but the Lord within us is much wiser. Often Satan becomes an useful tool for God to carry out His purpose on the earth through His chosen ones.

Therefore, we must be on the alert, always living and walking in the spirit, and be not ignorant of the Satanic schemes that we may not be taken advantaged of by Satan.

Christ is the Victor! Jesus is the Lord! 

Positive Ambition

In secular field the word "ambition" bears a very positive connotation, and all good students are with good ambitions in life. However, in spiritual life, its connotation is mostly inclined to the self and does not bear a positive image. In fact, many of the division among Christians can be attributed to the spiritual ambition of the spiritual leaders. In the name of "visions", "revelation" and "ministries" the un-dealt self is completely exposed resulting in the various factions and denominations among believers. Due to this ill affect, the word "ambition" is a cautious thing to guard for in the Body life.

However, the fact that the enemy uses certain attribute does not nullify the goodness and usefulness of the attribute itself. With a proper attitude and pure heart, we must indeed be positively ambitious for God's eternal economy. Lest the enemy cripples our God given gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ.

In a recent training, an elderly and mature brother fellowshipped about the need to be positively ambitious. That fellowship opened my eyes. As all this while, I have been keeping a strict guard on anything ambitious within my being, as I would not allow the enemy to instigate my soul-life for any of his crafty and stealthy purpose. Nevertheless, the cautiousness should not be a tool of the enemy to hamper my function in the Body either. I must positively function as the Lord blesses and as the Body coordinates for the Lord's purpose.

With this enlightened understanding, I consecrated my life to the Lord afresh for His heart's desire that all the positive ambitions I have may be properly used for the building up of the Body of Christ. In the Body, with the Body and through the Body, all the gifts the Lord bestows may as well be used for His purpose.

One of the burdens and positive ambitions within me is to be academically upgraded to a higher level of education than what the Lord has given as of now. And to be more fruitful in my official service, and in the matter of spiritual fruit bearing. What I am today by His grace and where I am now is also good, but it can always be made better. This is my positive ambition of doing my best, and giving my best to the Lord. 

The Lord must be loved with the best love; He is the supreme One and the most precious of all. My value of concept should be renewed to value the Lord more than anything else. In fact, to love Him with the best love, and serve Him with the best of my being, and worship Him with the best of offerings is my heart's desire, my positive ambition. To the priceless precious One, no price is too profound; He deserves it all. My "alabaster flask" must be broken for His satisfaction.

Henceforth, in the proper spirit, I would encourage all the saints to have positive ambition for the Lord's interest on this earth and for the fulfillment of His divine economy.

Lord, I love You and offer to You my best.

Be Fruitful and Multiply (3)

And God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. Genesis 1:28   

The speaking of the Lord today in my time with Him in the word is this wonderful command, "be fruitful and multiply." This is the third time, a define word on being fruitful is being charged to me. I have no idea how fruitful I have been to this day. Only He knows. But every new year, the Lord's  charge to me is to be fruitful and multiple.

In my self, I have no way to be fruitful. Fruitfulness, to my understanding, depends on the Lord's blessing. If He commanded "be fruitful" it must have meant that He will bless. The issue of being fruitful is a multiplication. In addition to the Lord's command to be fruitful, it has indeed been my prayer and desire that I truly be fruitful to Him. 

  

How can I be fruitful? His word in John 14:5 is the answer.

I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Verse 16, You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I set you that you should go forth and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give you.

The only way I can bear fruit is to abide in Him as He abides in me. Last night, the Lord's speaking too was on a similar line in Ezekiel 1:4. As His Spirit moves in me, He also abides with me as the cloud. His abiding in me is fine, but how about my abiding in Him. This is my responsibility, and I must exercise my spirit to abide in Him.

Besides, there is a charge to "go forth" preceding the "bear fruit". Which means, as I abide in Him, I must also go forth to preach the gospel. Without the "go forth" there cannot be the "bear fruit." Now, the ball in on my court. Yes, God has commanded that I should be fruitful, but for this to be practical, I must not only abide in Him but also cooperate with Him in going forth to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and bring sinners to salvation.  

Still the story does end here. The fruits borne by abiding in Him and going forth to preach the gospel must be shepherded that the fruits should remain. Only then the multiplication can happen. Otherwise, a mysterious and erroneous formula of 100+20 = 100 will hold true. 

If the fruits borne does not remain, though  many fruits be brought forth, there will never be a multiplication. Whatever is gained will also be lost. This has been my case for quite few years now. It is not totally that I never go forth to bear fruit, I did go forth and bear fruit but the fruits are often not remaining fruits. Here comes the need for shepherding.

The ultimate speaking of the Lord and the burden for this year is "to be fruitful and multiply." For this, I must abide in the Lord, go forth to preach the gospel and shepherd the new ones that the fruits may remain.

Lord, make me Your faithful witness and shepherd to be fruitful and multiply.    

New in Christ 2016

Corporately as the church in Gurgaon as we fellowshipped on the word and prayed thanking the Lord for all His faithfulness in leading us thus far, it dawned on me personally my nineteenth spiritual birthday last night. We had a wonderful time testifying of what the Lord has been doing in us. The hymns, "Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father, #19 and "He leadeth me! He leadeth me! By His own hand He leadeth me; #585 were very apt to express the deep feeling within me.

As a church we pray-read Ezek. 1:4 with the footnotes from the Holy Bible Recovery Version.

And I looked, and there came a storm wind from the north, a great cloud and a fire flashing incessantly; and there was a brightness around it, and from the midst of it there was something like the sight of electrum, from the midst of the fire.

This has been our experiences these days, and the Lord is faith to send the storm from the north wind blowing us to have a spiritual turn. Many saints have had this experience; in their business, in their family, in their finance, in their relationship and even in the church life. Now the Lord has made us understand why things were happening as it were. Nevertheless He comforted us by abiding with us as the cloud. Furthermore, He sanctifies us by burning away all the "tin and dross" that does not conform to His holy life and divine nature, thereby, filling us with Himself as the glory to express Him in our Christian life and church life. That was the speaking of the Lord last night. Praise the Lord!

Besides, the leading in the church was for a consecrated life to maintain a regular prayer life, personally and corporately as the church, and to be not taken advantaged of by Satan with his schemes as in 2 Corinthians 2:11, "That we may not be taken advantage of by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes." To also be equipped with the word of God by daily reading of the Bible; to this effect a reading schedule for reading through the text of the Bible in a year was given to all as well. All these spiritual pursuit must ensue in gospel preaching as the Lord commissioned us in Matthew 28:19, "Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," and thereby shepherding one another by love in a way of blending and building up. That was the Lord's leading for this coming new year.

The real new one is God Himself.  In God, in Christ we are ever new, for God is eternally new. Such newness is expressed in hymn #16 "Our Father, as the evergreen, Thou art forever new;" We enjoyed this hymn as  the physical new year dawned. It was a wonderful time indeed to be renewed year by year at large, and day by day particularly.

So then if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, they have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Lord, grace us to enjoy You as the newness all the days of our lives.

Double Portion

For there will be peace for the seed: The vine will give forth its fruit, and the land will give forth its produce, and the heavens will give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. Zechariah 8:12     Turn to the stronghold, O prisoners with hope. This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you. Zechariah 9:12   

At the fag end of the year, reviewing back what the Lord has done, the most precious thing I treasure of all is the experience and enjoyment of Christ. It has dawned on me that the only thing, yes the one and only thing worth mentioning, worth treasuring, is the gaining of Christ. In fact, there are many other physical and psychological blessings too, but supreme of all is the gaining of God in Christ as the Spirit for the growth in life for the building up of the Body of Christ. This is the real counting of blessings, really worth counting one by one.

Though there were failures, shortcomings, weaknesses, worldliness and sins now and then, though many of what I hoped and longed for has not really been fulfilled, personally and corporately as a church, and many of our prayers still seemed to be not yet answered, still the Lord is faithful and He knows best. In spite of all these unfulfilled hopes, the Lord's word is still trustworthy. 

In my time with the Lord these days, the leading and speaking of the Lord is very specific. Be it prayer or task to accomplish, His leading is very clear. My time with the Lord has a new turn henceforth. No longer beating aimlessly in the air, but point by point, the burden for the coming year has been released. Personally what to accomplish, officially what tasks to carry out, and as a church the leading of the Lord is on the practice of the God-ordained way. Even in our church prayer meeting last night the move of the Spirit in prayer was very specific, point by point releasing of burden with definite goal in 2016. Besides, all our family prayer and my own personal prayer are all very specific and to the point. As the year changes, a new beginning is a blessed visitation indeed.

The faithful promise of the Lord is a "double portion."  "The vine will give forth its fruit, and the land will give forth its produce, and the heavens will give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things." And I will restore double to you.

Lord, thank Your for all Your blessings, and for Your promise of double portion blessing.

As a Family

Barely a week after the Lord's speaking and a fresh consecration of me and my family, the Lord grace us to go for gospel preaching as a family in Faridabad last Lord's day. If gospel preaching should have been based on one's condition, I would have stayed back with lame excuses. In fact, I did reason for a while if I should go or not, or wait until next year, that is until next week, as I have many pending tasks to finish. However, as a church we decided to go, and as a family we went. What a glorious day it was!

I enjoyed shepherding three groups of people at three different times sequentially in coordination with a propagation team. Each group had definite need and the burden released was very apt. The first one being a Catholic family, our fellowship was on the Christian life; its biblical meaning and how to live Christ in reality with the basic steps of breathing, drinking and eating the Lord. The Lord's speaking was so rich, I myself was so nourished by it.

The second group was a group of new believers who had questions on biblical truth, in fact, confused by different teachings of certain preacher. The fellowship was very interactive, and we ministered the word alongside answering their questions. These are recently saved believers who need tender care and shepherding. May the Lord bless them to be pillars for the church in Faridabad!

The third group of people was a strong spiritual and elderly group of Christians. To them the Lord's speaking was on a higher realm of  the two aspects of the Spirit-the infilling and outpouring Spirit. And the result of the Spirit's outpouring on the day of Pentecost producing the church in Jerusalem. We delved deep into the intrinsic significance of the church on her local aspect and the works of the ministry that builds up the church, the Body of Christ, contrasting with the work of the gates of Hades which will not prevail against the builded church. Specifically, exploring the destructive work of Satan dividing the believers into different denomination under different leadership and teachings. The fellowship was well received and we had a love-feast thereafter.

It was a wonderful time ministering the word of God!

When we follow the Lamb wherever He leads, the Lord's anointing  and sweet presence is always abiding with us. 

It was a wonderful time indeed, purely the mercy of the Lord that we could partake in His move.

Lord, fully gain me and my family for Your move.

A New Way

It was the 25th December 2015, when in my time with the Lord in the word, He spoke to me from Ezekiel 1:4 about the north wind blowing as the visitation of the Lord to turn me, the Spirit abiding with me as a cloud, the fire burning away anything contrary to God's holy life and nature and then shining forth the glory of God as the electrum. I therefore shared with many saints and seekers on my WhatsApp. It has been my prayer that this word be a reality to me. And the Lord is faithful.

Three days later on the 28th, in my time with the Lord on my knees, the Lord really did turn me. A fresh consecration and a renewed burden to cooperate with His move ensued. The Lord's speaking was very subjective and crystal clear. Burden for prayer was renewed, and the goal for this coming year 2016 personally was made clear. 

Significant ones are the promise of the Lord for an academic research related to the service the Lord has assigned for me in the ministry of the word, in the literature service in general, and in linguistic in particular, in line with the present learning on Greek and English literature for the Bible translation. The university and specific line of research were also made clear. What He had promised concerning this matter of qualification upgradation for the gospel of the kingdom and also professionalism in the Lord's service are beginning to fulfill. This new light dawning was indeed the Lord's visitation; what passed through death is being resurrected, and has brought to me immense joy. Whatever I tried in the past to fulfill this promise was finally fine-tuned and channeled into what the Lord deemed best.

Besides, from the previous of experience of the Lord ushering me to spent fruitful time in the pursuit of the ministry writings, especially that of the collected works of Watchman Nee was further made clear. I thus began the pursuit, and the burden is to finish it in one year, within 2016. And my prayer for those on the prayer burden list to be specifically prayed for in a detailed way until a definite breakthrough in 2016; no more generic prayer, but be specific with goals.

Lord, praise your for Your speaking and turning.

The said speaking of the Lord is from the Holy Bible, Recovery Version.

Ezek. 1:4 - And I looked, and there came a storm wind from the north, a great cloud and a fire flashing incessantly; and there was a brightness around it, and from the midst of it there was something like the sight of electrum, from the midst of the fire.

Footnotes from the Holy Bible Recovery Version

Ezek. 1:4 1 wind As with the entire Bible, the book of Ezekiel uses visible, physical things to signify spiritual things. The storm wind here is a figure of the powerful Spirit of God (Acts 2:2, 4a). In the Scriptures the wind has both a negative and positive significance. In its negative significance the wind is a symbol, or sign, of God’s judgment upon man (Jer. 49:26; Rev. 7:1). In its positive significance the wind symbolizes the blowing of the Holy Spirit upon man or the descending of the Holy Spirit upon man to cause man to have God’s life (37:9-10; John 3:6-8; Acts 2:2-21). The storm wind here has this positive significance.

Ezek. 1:4 2b  north  Job 37:22;  Psa. 48:2;  Isa. 14:13;  cf. Jer. 1:14From the north means from God (Psa. 75:6-7a; Isa. 14:13). Whenever God visits us and revives us, His Spirit blows on us like a mighty wind to bring a spiritual storm into our life, into our work, and into our church, causing us to be dissatisfied and concerned about our spiritual condition and to have a turn in our spiritual life.

Ezek. 1:4 3c  cloud  Exo. 19:16;  24:16;  2 Chron. 5:14;  Psa. 97:2-3;  Ezek. 10:4The cloud here is a figure of God as the Spirit abiding with His people and covering them in order to care for them and show favor to them (Exo. 13:21; 40:34-35; Prov. 16:15; 1 Cor. 10:1-2). God comes to us as the wind, but He stays with us as the cloud. Together, the wind and the cloud are an indication that an important transaction is about to take place between God and man.

Ezek. 1:4 4  fireThe fire seen by Ezekiel signifies God’s burning and sanctifying power (Deut. 4:24; Heb. 12:29). Whenever God visits us, His holy fire comes to consume in us everything that does not match His holy nature and disposition. This burning fire also causes us to be enlightened concerning our spiritual condition before God. The more the fire of the Holy Spirit burns in us, the more we are purified and enlightened.

Ezek. 1:4 5d  electrum  Ezek. 1:27;  8:2Ezek. 1:45 [1]  Following the rendering of the Septuagint and the Vulgate; others translate, glowing metal. “An unknown substance; some think a mixture of gold and silver” (Darby). Gold signifies the nature of God, and silver signifies redemption. The electrum, composed of the elements of gold and silver, signifies the Lamb-God, the redeeming God (see note 15 in Rev. 22). That the glowing electrum appeared from the midst of the fire indicates that the burning of the divine fire is for the manifestation of the electrum.

Ezek. 1:4 5 [2]  The spiritual history of a normal Christian should be a continual cycle involving the experience of God as the wind, the cloud, the fire, and the electrum. The more we experience the wind, the cloud, and the fire, the more the electrum is constituted into our being, making us a people who are filled with the Triune God and who manifest His glory. The issue of the spiritual transactions involving the blowing wind, the covering cloud, and the purifying fire is the glowing electrum—the radiant expression of the redeeming God.

Lord, blow upon us as the north wind, abide with us as the cloud, burn and sanctify us by the fire, that we may glow forth Your glory as the electrum.