Take My Yoke

Matt. 11:28 -  Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matt. 11:29 - Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matt. 11:30 - For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Footnote from the Holy Bible Recovery Version on "yoke."To take the Lord’s yoke is to take the will of the Father. It is not to be regulated or controlled by any obligation of the law or religion or to be enslaved by any work, but to be constrained by the will of the Father. The Lord lived such a life, caring for nothing but the will of His Father (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). He submitted Himself fully to the Father’s will (26:39, 42). Hence, He asks us to learn from Him.

These verses in my time with the Word today became so fresh to me. When in the Father's will, the Lord works things out perfectly. No burden, no anxiety, no special feeling even. Just as any other ordinary day. Only that the Father's will be done, whatever it is.

It used to be my desire to be able to visit America for all the good things that  have come out of this country. In fact,  when I was much younger I used to dream of visiting this country. But all those natural and self-interest dream have died down since the past few years. There were times I would even grasped the opportunity to visit this country. But the Lord preserved me from all natural choices. When all such desires or dreams were dealt with,  the Lord opened the door for me finally.

But there is no special excitement as such now. Even as I blog this on a flight from Dubai to Los Angeles, there is hardly any special feeling; to me it is just an ordinary flight as that of a domestic one in India. I am visiting USA just because the Lord has arranged it so. I do not know what has been reserved for me,  but I do know I am visiting the saints in the Body for fellowship, blending,  training and perfecting. No self-interest. I just commit myself to the Lord that His will be done, as He pleases.

Many times it is worth waiting for the Lord’s perfect timing and never grasp for anything. What the Lord has reserved is always the best. There is a true rest in trusting in the Lord. This is what the Lord meant subjectively when He said, "Take my yoke."  Caring for the Father's will and submitting ourselves fully to Him is taking the Lord's yoke upon ourselves. What a peace and what a joy indeed!

When in the perfect will of the Lord,  every thing falls in line, and one is in perfect peace with the Lord with much rest. Praise the Lord!

Lord, may I learn this lesson thoroughly well; taking your yoke.

My First Visit to America

The Lord’s timing is always the best. When He wills it everything falls into place. What a rest and joy just to leave everything to the Father's will. 

When the Lord wills and the Body confirms it, heaven and earth works together to accomplish His will. This time for my visit to America, I experienced the Lord’s presence and leading so much in every single and minute detail. Though trivial, our God is also the God of small things. From beginning to end,  He heads up every matter great or small.  Praise the Lord! 

My online visa application was done on a train, and payment and appointment taken while on a bus, on my way to a coworkers' training in the South of India. On the day of a US visa interview, a lady visa officer's questions made me answer all about my faith in Christ, my serving the Lord in the literature service, my family matter and my relationship with the saints in America. Things that I did not wish to reveal were all spoken out loud to a government official. My preparation for the interview was not to reveal anything about my faith or anything Christian as I am dealing with the government authority. But it all turned out the opposite, as though I talked to a believer in fellowship. Any way,  I was glad I spoke the truth. And finally,  she wished me a happy journey, to America. That's how the government official interviewed me. 

When I arrived here at Los Angeles airport,  the immigration officers,  two of them,  asked me the same questions,  "Are you a pastor or a minister?" To both I replied, "I am just a believer, a Christian." One of them further asked me, "Do you preach the gospel?  Do you minister in a church?" My reply was,  "Yes,  I do!" Then he smiled and cheered me up,  "Great Sir!" I replied,  "Thank you brother!" And they welcomed me to America. Wondering if that was the way immigration officers should interrogate a foreigner. Anyway I liked it,  and glad they knew that I am a Christian.

Then a brother whom I honor and revere very much came to pick me at the airport and drove me to LSM campus where another brother introduced the whole set up to me. Very impressive. Not just at the physical matter,  but much more on the wisdom and foresight God blessed our brothers with, for His economy on this earth. Praise the Lord! 

My hospitality was very interesting. I described it to my wife as

I am in a home of saints who are:British American with Chinese wife, Jewish American with Chinese wife, And I am a North East Indian with a Chinese wife! 

Wonderful blending in the Body! The reality of the one new man lived out! Hallelujah! 

That was my wonderful experience of my first day in my first visit to America. 

God bless America. 

An Experience with Fellow Believers

The Ministry of the Word has been prevailing as proven and experienced through the many ministry of the word literature journey undertaken as the Lord led us in the past years. Summary of the experience with fellow believers are below:

Refutation of False Allegations 

When we were confronted with false allegation like "cult", "heretic/heresy", etc., we gently asked them few questions, 

"Brother, can you please point out the Bible verses as a proof of accusing us as "wrong or heretic"? Can you also point out which title, chapter, paragraph, page number and sentences/phrases of our books that is/are against the Bible? Have you read any of our books thoroughly? If so, have you really understood what you have read in the light of the word of God?

I used to asked the above questions to many of the opposers. Believe it or not, so far none of the opposers I met had any answer. Then, that gave me the ground to minister the truths using some selected title books. And they enjoyed the ministry of the word and finally ended up buying the ministry books.

It was the Lord's mercy we could meet these renowned Christian leaders. After all our fellowship, their misunderstandings and false accusations were refuted. In fact, after every meeting, even the way we look at each other and felt about each other changed. A deep sense of peace and joy were within us. It was indeed the Lord who led us to meet them.

Affirmation of the Truth 

To some Christian leader we affirmed the healthy teaching concerning the Trinity/Triune God, the Essential and Economical Trinity, the Humanity and Divinity of Christ, the Processed and Consummated Spirit, the Economy of God, the Church with Her Universal and Local Aspects, the Body of Christ, the Oneness of the Triune God and of the Body of Christ, the Ground of Oneness, etc.. Even Apologetics and Christian leaders agreed and confirmed to the truth we have affirmed based on the Bible. Of course, we always quote relevant Bible verses; sometimes we used Greek words and grammar to explain it further. As long as we used the Bible correctly and effectively, no Christian dared to speak otherwise.

Clarification of Confusions

The "hearsay" of many negative rumor concerning the Lord's recovery have caused confusion among Christian leaders; to such, we clarified, in the spirit of Christian brotherhood, that those things were not so. To some, we have asked them to be like the Bereans in Acts 17:10. and they were humble enough to accept our fellowship. To many we have also clarified the misinterpretation of many practices in the Lord's recovery like "Calling upon the Lord's Name, Pray-reading the Word,n Prophesying, Baptisms, Bread-breaking, etc.," and concerning  the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, LSM, Recovery Version etc.."

Brotherly Fellowship with Opposers

As the Lord burdened, we selected the main opposers in India and visited them in their homes or offices. After fellowship lasting for about two to three hours, face to face as Christian brothers, they all testified that our visitation and fellowship helped clear up many misunderstanding. Some even said, "if you were really cult or heretic you would not have come to meet us. Thank you for visiting us. " 

Introduction of the Ministry and Distribution

In this year 2016, in new places like Andra Pradesh & Telengana, Adaman and Nicobar Islands and 17 localities in North East India, we met mostly Christian leaders who were new to the ministry. Without any question they simply received the ministry; they listened to us and purchased the ministry books. It was the Lord's presence that really blessed the distribution. I myself was very surprised that in all the 17 localities in NE India where we met many many Christian leaders, mostly the main ones from the Baptist and the Presbyterians, not one have any question. Instead they all listened to us for hours and ended up purchasing the ministry books, some purchased in sets, and some ordered even the books we did not have, like Life-study, Collected Works etc..

Establishing Christian Rapport

With almost every Christian leaders we met, we established a Christian rapport. Now they are on our database and we keep contact with them over the phone or WhatsApp. As the Lord leads, we send messages and pray for them too. Over the years, the Lord taught me this lesson, "Maintain a good relationship with all the believers; even if they disagree with us in teachings or practices. After all they are our fellow Christian brothers." 

Ministering of Christ as Life through the Ministry of the Word

To most of the Christian leaders we met, we used the ministry literature to minister Christ as life. Of course, we carried out such trip to visit them after much prayer, and the saints also prayed for us in all our trips. Back in the office, we have serving ones praying everyday before office works for all the literature activities. For our burden in the literature service is, "The Ministry of the Word for All!"

Shepherding the Seekers

When the Lord revealed some genuine seekers, we turned the visit into shepherding, and shepherded them as the Lord led us and according to their situation. This time in the North East, we have introduced the leading brothers of the nearby churches for follow up shepherding to those genuine seekers. Whoever invited us to minister to their congregation, as the Lord gave us the peace, we ministered the word in their congregation. This time solid seekers were in contact in Dimapur, Wokha, Kohima, Tamenglong, Ukhrul and Imphal. The last three places were followed up by the brothers in Manipur.

Addendum

From our side, what we have learned was, we and our saints must also be careful in the way we speak about our fellow believers in the denominations. When some saints spoke immaturely with improper attitude, things were taken out of context and we ourselves gave the others the ground to speak against us. In fact, the Lord taught us many lessons of life in meeting with all these believers, especially the opposers. In many cases, we are also to be blamed for the misunderstandings. May the Lord cover us. May Christ be our wisdom.

 

Colossians

 4:5   Walk in wisdom toward those who are without, redeeming the time.

 4:6   Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Jehovah Nissi

Exodus 17:8 -15

Then Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.And Moses said to Joshua, Choose men for us, and go out; fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.So Joshua did as Moses had said to him and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.And when Moses lifted his hand up, Israel prevailed; and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.But Moses’ hands were heavy, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.And Jehovah said to Moses, Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi;

The Lord gave me a clear revelation of the word of God when I spent time in reading the word one morning. It was about the defeat of Amalek; the defeat of Satan, the flesh, the world and all the negative things. This living message I spoke to a couple of group meetings and it were very enlightening, full of life supply even as I myself enjoyed the flow of life, and the saints too testified the same.

What was ministered to me in my ministering of the word were:

Food and Drink: The basic prerequisite for living and fighting is food and drink. The fight against Amalek did not happen until the Israelite ate the manna and drank the living water from the smitten rock. Meaning, no spiritual fight can happen until we are first fed with our necessary spiritual food; manna and the living water, who both are Christ. No eating and drinking of Christ, no fight against the enemy.

Moses and Joshua: The fight against Amalek happened in two sections; one at the hill top and the other at battle field. As long as Moses hands were lifted up at the hill top, Joshua and his army prevailed against the enemy at the battle field. Without the fighting and the lifting up of hands, there could be no victory. The two must coordinate with one another. Spiritual battle is fought in ascension at the hill top, in the heavens, as man practically fought at the battle field on the earth. Victory is determined by the prayer in ascension by the lifting up of Moses hands.

 But for Moses had to be lifted up all the time, Moses himself needed three things:

The Rock: Moses sat upon the rock as a solid strong base, who is Christ, the support of our prayer that brings in the victory. Without a strong and solid base, there is no way for victory.

Aaron and Hur: Just sitting on the rock did not suffice, Moses hands have to be lifted up too. For this, Aaron, the high priest, representing the priesthood, in our present day, Body life practice in the church-life is needed. And Hur, representing the kingship, that builds the tabernacle of God on the earth is needed too. With these two, Moses hands could always be lifted up, and the direct result is the victory over Amalek.

This whole episode is a mysterious yet divine picture of spiritual warfare unto victory for the building up of the Body of Christ. I was so much blessed by the ministry of the word. I cannot fight the enemy by myself, but I must fight in the Body by prayer in coordination; resting on Christ as my solid base, depending on the priesthood and kingship for the purpose of establishing a kingdom that will build the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God, the church, which is the Body of Christ.

Finally, the issue of this battle is Jehovah-nissi, Jehovah is my banner, meaning victory.

These profound revelation I received through the help of the ministry of the word has been ringing in me again and again. And I am still beginning to fully experience the reality of the Lord's speaking. 

May the Lord grace me to experience Him in all the detail and defeat my "Amalek" and the "Amalek" by joining myself with the interceding Christ in ascension in the heavens, resting upon Christ as my support, depending upon the Body for the building up of the Body of Christ, and manifest the glorious victory of Christ as Jehovah-nissi! 

Jesus Christ, My Teacher

Isaiah 30:20-21  And though the Lord has given youThe bread of adversity and the water of oppression, Your Teacher will no longer hide Himself in a corner, But your eyes will see your Teacher.And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it,When you turn to the right or turn to the left.

As a man on the earth with free will and cognitive power bestowed upon in creation by God, I tend to depend upon my own human wisdom to plan and do things at my very own best. Nevertheless, my Teacher, Jesus Christ, has been behind the scene in all situations. He's been speaking to me, audibly at times, visible at other times, and mysteriously oftentimes. 

Three very subjective experience are truly worth mentioning. 

Travel Plan: I had to plan my schedule for the upcoming two months to participate in the Lord's move in India. But somehow, every time I was about to make the final decision, something within me stopped me. Even as I tried to forego the inner whisper, circumstances will not just cooperate. I was about to book tickets a couple of times, but every time, either it failed technically or I gave up due to lack of inner peace. And finally one day, after prayer and fellowship, it became very clear to me, and then my Teacher confirmed within to book a ticket, on which date and by which means of transportation, and thus it was confirmed.

Insurance Plan: I was enrolled for a life-insurance policy five years ago, and every year by June I have to pay the premium. This time I completely forgot all about it. Though there was the money, I intended to gift it to my brother for family needs. In fact, I even spoke to him with surety that I would transfer the money as soon as possible. But however, till date, almost a month now, I never had the clear cut confirmation. Two weeks ago, I was just reminded of my need to pay the premium, I came to my sense why the Lord did not give me the go-ahead signal. I paid off my premium, and other family needs followed suit. Then I understood, why the Lord withheld what I told my brother. Later, in fellowship with my wife, we agreed to do the family help in the latter part of this year.

Academic Matter: I had to write my Greek final exam but I was also planning for another exam and interview for academic qualification upgradation. But the Lord knew that two things would coincide and that it would not be practical. Though I tried my best to prepare for the exam, the Lord just touched my health just before the exam, weakening me to the bed that I could not even study at all. Finally, I had to give up one and rather concentrate on the Greek final exam and other more important official project. By any means, it was impossible to do the two together. I didn't realized it until recently when I could hardly find time even for myself. My Teacher, has been faithfully leading me all these while.  

Your Teacher will no longer hide Himself in a corner, But your eyes will see your Teacher.And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it,When you turn to the right or turn to the left.

Jesus Christ, My Teacher, knows the best for me. I better listen to Him only. 

Thank you Lord, for leading me thus far. And continue to lead me, on and on, unto the end.

Peace Maker

I am beginning to under what the Lord meant when He said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God" in Mathew 5:9. These days the Lord is giving me opportunities to learn how to be "peace makers," not between enemies but even between saints. For reason known well to God, and of course to Satan too, why there are problem between saints? At the very first thought, it sounds like an enigma. But pondering over it, considering over it, the Lord's light shown on me and let me begin to understand the reason why. Why do saints have problems? That too, not against the unbelievers, but against another saint. Is this real sainthood?

Saints are all those who are redeemed and sanctified by the blood of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. It does not imply specifically that saints are matured and overcoming believers. Even a new born spiritual babe is a saint!

On the one hand, the saints need to grow in life unto maturity, yet on the other hand, Satan is at constant war with the saints; a fight against God. In fact, there are only two opposite forces in the universe, God versus Satan. Satan does not fight with God directly, but definitely with the children of God, the saints. Therefore, he subtly creates problem among the immature yet growing saints. Generally, "fights" happen among only immature saints, just like children and kids do at home. That's a sign of immaturity.

I do not claim that I am mature, but in faith and by grace I do claim that I am maturing. As problems among the saints were brought to me,  and as I in turn brought them before the Lord in prayer, the Lord impressed me with the urgency of the need for saints to transform and grow in life; the faster the better. This was exactly why saints had problems as mentioned.

Recently, two cases, serious as it may seem to be, were brought to me. I may not fully fathom the depth of the problem, but I do fathom the reason that caused the problems- satanic attack. To the two parties, I have fellowshipped the importance of exercising our spirits to turn to the Lord in prayer; and bind the enemy who caused all the problems. And I count it blessed to be able to fellowship with the opposite parties and minister the word of God. I don't know how much I have been instrumental in helping the saints, but I do know, I am learning some deep spiritual lessons of life. I even count it blessed that I can be a "peace maker." Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

To one party I have shared from the life of the Lord Jesus, how He was tempted with human necessity of food, with religion and with worldly glory. And how the Lord defeated Satan, the tempter, and such temptation was necessary to usher the Lord into His earthly ministry- a perfect man. Without trials how do one proves someone is perfect? So is the usefulness of trials; God allowed them. 

Overall I shared three points to the saints when they came for a specific fellowship: 

• Satan is our only enemy and not our brothers or sisters. He will do his best to create misunderstanding and problems among the saints. He hates the Lord Jesus who is the Head of the Body and does all he could to destroy the Body of Christ by attacking the immature members.
• Trials are also used by God to transform and perfect us. Without which how do we know one has progressed in life? Trials and temptations are the thermometers to read the degree of maturity of the saints.
• In our relationship with the saints, natural affection must be avoided by all means. Once our relationship with the saints goes beyond the "in Christ" realm, we give ourselves as prey to Satan, the ever roaring and ever roaming lions. 

This fellowship helped them and despite the problems, they would rather pray and look to the Lord for more grace and growth in life. I reckon this as, "peace maker," making peace in the saints and among the saints by leading them to the word of God, the Spirit and prayer. To me, this is the real peace maker; bringing people to Christ through the Word, the Spirit and prayer.

Lord, make me Your peace maker. 

Life Lessons in Service

For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox that is treading out the grain,” and, “The workman is worthy of his pay.” 1 Timothy 5:18   

It was indeed a great light to see the importance of feeding and enjoying what we have been treading upon. God prohibited the muzzling of an ox that treads the grain. Herein lies a deep and profound divine principle for those who serves Jehovah. We must enjoy what we do, and in fact, live from it.

My fellowship to my fellow serving ones in the literature service was that we all should, even if I may use the word "MUST", enjoy the ministry of the word. We are not here as "salesman" per se, but a distributor of the highest "goods" in the whole universe, the word of God; more precisely, the interpreted word of God. So each of us must pursue the ministry of the word daily, enjoy it, be constituted with it and then distribute it in a way of ministering life to the "seekers of the truths." 

My own experiences all these years in the literature service have proved time and again, the necessity of being constituted with the word and ministering the word as life and life-supply to the believers. Since I came to the literature service I have been travelling the length and breath of this country, India, for the distribution of the word of God. In most of my contact with people, I was ministering the word mostly. The result of which was, many of the seekers were so touched by the word that they all ended up buying the truths. I believe, the Lord must have blessed each reader with His divine revelation.

The ministry of the word is so wonderful.

In serving the Lord, He, the righteous Judge has affirmed, "The workman is worthy of his pay." All servants of the Lord have faithfully been taken care of. So we all must trust Him for all our needs, both physical and spiritual. Though serving the Lord is not a job, the Lord has been faithfully providing the needs of all His servants, including me. There are inexplicable ways in which He has been shepherding me all these while. He provided all my needs, and much more, blessed me in abundance, even in physical things. Beyond my comprehension, He faithfully supplies all my needs and even the need of the my brothers and sisters. Sometimes, I wonder how it all happened. Sometimes, I felt the Lord has provided me more than what I could have earned even if I were to take up jobs. I envy none, for I have heard the clarion call of my Jehovah-Jireh! I testify this, not as a boast, but as a declaration of the fact, the reality of things as it has been. The Lord is faith, and His word too, "the workman is worthy of his pay."

That fellowship we had was wonderful. It encouraged and strengthened all of us who serves in the distribution of the ministry of the word.

Lord, preserve me in the joy and enjoyment of serving You.