Gates of Hades: Odd to Translation

Matthew 16:18 b, "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

Since the very inception of the literature service in Telugu, especially, the translation service, there have been rampant attack on the serving ones. Our Hyderabad office was closed, and the serving ones went through a lot of crisis. Physical health issue, family problems, financial crisis and the likes. But somehow we managed to sail on despite the many hurdles. 

Last year we restructured the service responsibilities and it went on well. New serving ones have come in through fellowship. But soon, many of these saints have faced health issues that affected their services. For quite some time I have been wondering why it has to be so in this particular language. Beginning this year we started a Life-study project with two serving ones and some part timers joining in. No sooner than it began, one of them have serious health issue suddenly and the other serving one's father was hospitalised and is now in ICU. Last night, I with two brothers visited them.

As I have been on Ministry Literature Journey to select cities of Andhra Pradesh and Telengana, Telugu speaking region, I realised one important matter. There are thousands of seeker of the truth waiting for us to supply them the ministry of the word. I have heard testimonies of how seekers have read the ministry books and turned to take the way of the Bible in the practice of the church life, leaving religion and degraded Christianity, to enjoy and experience Christ in a new and living way for the building up of the church, the Body of Christ, and  Satan hates this. So is the attack.

When the ministry perfects the saints and builds up the Body of Christ as in Ephesians 4:12, which is the fulfillment of the Lord's prophesy in Matthew 16:18, Satan, the  gates of Hades, will not keep quite. No wonder the attack. But praise the Lord, he will not prevail against it. Hallelujah!

These are visible signs that the ministry is prevailing and it will fully prevail. Now I am so much strengthened for the service and function the Lord has entrusted me in the Body, in the literature service to build up the church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

Press On

Our recent training for the leading and responsible  brothers for the churches in India was on pressing on from the tabernacle church life to the temple church life as seen in the history of the journey of the Ark from being in the tabernacle till the transition into the temple in Jerusalem. In type, there is also the enlargement of the material, size, weight and number typifying the need to press on in our experiences of the Christ.

What the Lord touched my being was in the materials used in the building of the temple, especially that of gold, bronze and stone besides the Cyprus wood, Cedar wood and olive wood.

The Church as the Temple of God—The Goal of God's Eternal Economy, Message Three, The Intrinsic Significance of the Materials of the Temple (2)

      Gold: 

IV. The major parts of the temple were made of wood overlaid with gold, signi-
fying man being overlaid—united, mingled, and incorporated—with God—
2 Chron. 3:7; 1 Kings 6:20-21, 30, 32, 35; 7:48-51:
A. The Lord’s recovery consists of God overlaying His recovered people with Him-
self.
B. Oneness is a matter of sinking deeply into the Triune God until we are fully
overlaid with gold; the only way to be kept in the real oneness is to have an
adequate amount of the experienced God—Eph. 4:3; Col. 2:19.  

Bronze:

VI C. Those who are useful to God are constantly under God’s judgment (bronze), realizing that they are men in the flesh, worthy of nothing but death and burial— Psa. 51:5; Exo. 4:1-9; Rom. 7:18; Matt. 3:16-17:   

1. We must judge ourselves as nothing and as being qualified only to be crucified; whatever we are, we are by the grace of God, and it is not we who labor but the grace of God—1 Cor. 15:10; Gal. 2:20; 1 Pet. 5:5-7.   

2. The reason for both division and fruitlessness among believers is that there is no bronze, nothing of God’s judgment; instead, there is pride, self-boasting, self-vindication, self-justification, self-approval, self-excuse and self-righteousness and condemning and regulating others instead of shepherding and seeking them—Matt. 16:24; Luke 9:54-55.   

3. When we love the Lord and experience Him as the man of bronze (Ezek. 40:3), He will become our extraordinary love, boundless forbearance, unparalleled faithfulness, absolute humility, utmost purity, supreme holiness and righteousness, and our brightness and uprightness—Phil. 4:5-8. 

Stone: 

VII. The stones of the temple signify Christ’s humanity in transformation, the transformed Christ—1 Kings 5:15-18; 6:7, 36; 1 Chron. 29:2; 2 Chron. 3:6: 

D. The New Testament speaks of living stones (1 Pet. 2:5), and the Old Testament  speaks of cut stones (1 Kings 5:15, 17-18; 6:7); the stones used for the building up of the church must be living inwardly and cut (dealt with) outwardly (2 Cor. 4:16): 

1. In the church some brothers and sisters can be compared to “wild” stones, freshly cut from the quarry and full of sharp edges; when they are contacted, they cause people to be hurt and to have an uncomfortable feeling.  

2. They are not stable enough to be built upon, to coordinate and serve with
others, to fight the battle with others, or to bear the Ark with others.  

3. Every piece of stone used for the building of the temple was, in principle, already cut and dealt with in the mountains; thus, the sound of hammer, ax, and iron tool was not heard, and the temple was built quietly—1 Kings 5:15-18; 6:7; cf. Isa. 30:15a.  

4. The church should be built without any “noise” of the self; the only sound in the church that we should hear is the music, “the joyful noise,” of calling on the Lord, rejoicing, praising, praying, thanking, and singing—Psa. 100:1-5; Acts 4:10-12; Phil. 4:4; Heb. 13:15; 1 Thes. 5:16-18; Col. 3:16-17; 1 Chron. 6:31-32. 

The Lord's speaking was so apt. It reminds me to come to the Lord again and gain to gain Him as gold, to sink into Him and to be overlaid with Him; to be judged daily in my daily living, in my words, thoughts and deeds; and to be dealt with and be a transformed stone to fitly framed and joint with other members in the Body. All these are for the building up of the Body of Christ.

Lord, grace me to press on and on.

LITERATURE JOURNEY: Khamman & Vijawaya

In Khamman the Lord arranged an elderly sister for our hospitality. In this city the Lord led us to some very senior and elderly brothers to whom we introduced the ministry books. In spite of all the decades of spiritual experiences, they all seemed to get stuck at maintaining the status quo of a Christian life. A brother even confessed how he weeps before the Lord for being stagnant spiritually and wonder why revival of the old have not happened, and why believers lost their interest in the things of God? Spiritual deadness, barrenness, division are plaguing the Christian world today. Another brother acknowledged how the ministry books we are distributing are so helpful to him; even the basic of pray-reading and calling upon the Lord's name have helped him a lot. Many have been drugged by religiosity and superstition in the cloak of spirituality. Even as we released our burden of letting the ministry known to all these dear saints, deep within me I felt how blessed I am to be in the ministry of the age. Had I not been shown mercy to take the way of the recovery I would have as well sunk into the mire of religiosity.

Later in the evening the Lord opened up a Pastor referred to us by a brother from Warangal to whom local brothers ministered the word for about two hours. May the Lord have His way in this city.

Our visit to Vijayawada was very joyous as the local church here and our brothers gladly coordinated with us, leading us to different Christian leaders; some are very famous Christian leaders, some elderly and spiritual ones and some young ones. The sweet coordination of the brothers is the most precious thing here.

One significant meeting was with a well known brother, very gifted, and who was introduced to the ministry, decade ago. In fact, he had introduced the ministry books to some seekers many years ago and are now in the church life, but he himself have not fully taken the way of the Lord's recovery. The seed of the ministry was already sown into him. As we fellowshiped with him late into the night, till an hour and half past midnight, the Lord's speaking was so sweet, full of anointing, we all enjoyed the flow of life.

Our brother opened up to confess his lack for fellowship and expressed his need for regular fellowship with fellow members in the Body. As the Lord burdened us, we ministered on the ministry of the age of building up the Body of Christ and Lord's recovery of oneness, the preeminance of the all-inclusive Christ, the functioning of the members of the Body of Christ, the fellowship of and in the Body of Christ and the building up of the Body of Christ. He was so happy that we visited him and acknowledged that it was the Lord visiting him to recover him. May the Lord fully recover him too.

Later we met an elderly brother who opened up for more fellowship and our brothers ministered to him over an hour. Just before we left Vijayawada an impromtu appointment was made with a Pastor who also turned out to be very seeking for the truth concerning the Christian life and the church life. As we ministered the word he received it whole heartedly and there will be a follow up fellowship. All these are the Lord's leading to the right people at the right time within the few days of our stay here. May the Lord recover him and the believers with him too for the economy of God.

LITERATURE JOURNEY: Warangal

An Answer to the Body's Prayer

Though we did not have any contact in this city despite being one of the target cities for propagation this year, as we came out of the train station we stood and prayed to the Lord to lead us. Meanwhile one sister's number was given to us by phone, later we met her, and she introduced us to a brother. 

As we introduced the ministry books to this brother, the Lord opened up his heart and he became very interested to fellowship with us. He gave us wonderful hospitality and directed us to different Christian leaders for the introduction of the books.

In the evening after dinner, we fellowship with this brother till midnight and also with his wife the following morning on various truths of the Bible. They were so happy and the brother exclaimed that we were the first people he met who knew the deep things of God  and ministered the high truths concerning the divinity and humanity of Christ, the organic oneness with Christ, the crucified and resurrected Christ and the subjective experiences therewith, the church as the Body of Christ, the corporate expression of Christ, the Body-Christ, mingling, blending, God's economy and the Lord's recovery. 

He was so joyful as many divine revelations he received from God in his time with the Lord, which he dared not reveal to anyone else before for lack of confirmation, were confirmed in our fellowship. He even said, "God has sent His angels as He visited Abraham of the Bible", "You are the first and only Christians I met who knows the truth...", "Deep calls unto deep", "I have been praying and seeking the Lord for years...", "I am not satisfied with routine Christianity full of religious things...", etc,.

Now he wants to dive into the ministry books as he avoided it for the past 20 some years because of false accusation against brother Watchman Nee. He regreted that he missed so much and confirmed that it was Satan who tried to hide the truths by evil speakings among Christians concerning the ministry books.

From now on, he wants to study the books and even the Holy Bible, Recovery Version with the notes and keep on fellowshiping with us for the Lord's further leading.

Pray for this brother and his family that they may be brought into the subjective enjoyment of Christ and into the reality and oneness, and the fellowship of the Body of Christ.

He is a well known Christian leader with believers spread all over AP & T, and his wife, a women Christian leader too.

Pray for the recovery of the testimony in Warangal and the follow up fellowship with this family.

A report posted on 9th February 2016.

Spiritual Reality

Spirituality is for the Body of Christ. All the gifts of God, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, different talents, functions of all members of the Body of Christ, are all for the building up of the Body of Christ. Otherwise, it will not meet the reality and purpose of spirituality. God is not after giants, but after a built up corporate Body of Christ. This is the work of God today, and to be one with God in His one unique work of building up the Body of Christ is genuine spiritual reality.

These days as we have been travelling, and meeting various Christian spiritual leaders and fellowshipping with them, my heart ache in the ignorance and negligence among the spiritual leaders in not seeing God's desire for the built up Body and much less in not doing the one work of the building up of the Body. To whomever the Lord opens the door, we fellowship on this matter. And the Lord has been very faithful, opening the door for the ministry of the word. He led us to the right people at the right time. Praise Him!

All those we met so far are so gifted and even blessed as well, materially and physically too. They too have wonderful testimonies of the Lord's leading all these years. As we opened up the matter of the Body, they pay need to all that the Lord apportioned and allowed us to minister. And they all amened the ministry of the word. 

The Lord's timing is perfect for this, as we and they all could testify in one accord that this is indeed true spirituality. To such seekers and lovers of the Lord we fellowshipped for hours till midnight. Praise the Lord for the Body. And may He recover the spiritual reality of the building up of the Body of Christ.

LITERATURE JOURNEY: Hyderabad & Secunderabad

In prayer and planning for the promotional and propagation of the ministry of the word, the Lord burdened me last December, and also in line with the fellowship from the brothers concerning distribution I fellowshipped and planned a ministry literature journey to selects cities of Andra Pradesh and Telengana. The first destination was the twin city of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. We used one whole week to do a thorough work meeting whoever we could meet.

The Lord has led us and blessed us in the ministry of the word through the introduction of the ministry books, even in the defense and confirmation of the truth whenever and wherever necessary. We met some key Christian leaders and bookstores owners/managers, Apologetic, Pastors, Theologians,  and seekers, and paved the way for the ministry books distribution.

The Lord's presence as we prayed for, became very precious to us. His anointing was so rich as He gave the timely word to minister to different Christian leading ones. The timing and venue was just perfect to release our burden. And the saints and the churches' coordination in prayer and our coordination in oneness brought in the Lord commanded blessing. Hallelujah!

Through this reaching out to our fellow Christian brothers, one whole Christian group has opened up for fellowship; and invited us to minister to their congregation last Lord's day. May the Lord recover them in His time and in His way.

The Lord blessed the meeting with these believers as we ministered on "the priesthood". And later with leading brothers we had fellowship on "life, the church and oneness". We spent about 5 hours together in fellowship and prayer.

It so happened that this group is known to others as "little flock". Besides, last year the spiritual character study for the vacation Bible school in the group was on Watchman Nee. 

Brothers and sisters there are lovers and seekers of the Lord. More follow up fellowship will continue with the saints there.

Follow the Brothers

In the principle of the Body, the Lord has been teaching me lessons on coordination. As I am with brothers coordinating with me in the literature distribution, as per the Lord's leading, the Lord reminded me that in all decisions making, I simply must just follow the brothers. For, in following the brothers is following the Lord.

In cities where local people are Telugu speakers, wherever and whenever needed, I spoke and the brothers translated for me. In all practical arrangment it has been the brothers who take the lead. Praise the Lord for the Body.

Even today, a couple of brothers joined us in our visiting Christian leaders or pastors. Most of the talk was done by them unless it required my speaking. What a blessing to be in the Body!

At times my natural man wanted to make a point as I felt in some matters I needed to adjust the brothers as the way they did things was kind-of slow and seemed it was a waste of time. But deep within I was reminded again just to amen the brothers' leading. And in doing so, it so turned out that the seemingly time delay was the perfect timing to meet those Christian leaders. The Lord honored the brothers' coordination and blessed our visitation.

It is the sheer mercy of the Lord that I could be in the midst of the brothers, simply to follow them and be blessed.

In all my trip this time in Andra Pradesh and Telengana I rested in the Lord in the brothers' arrangement. What peace I enjoyed in coordination! What a rest in trusting in the Lord's portion in my brothers. Without them I cannot go on in this trip. Above all, the Lord's presence and anointing and blessing was bountiful in the brothers' coordination in the Body. I simply follow the brothers... This is how the Lord leads me on and on...