Light of the Gentiles

Acts 13:47 - For so the Lord has commanded us, “I have set you as a light of the Gentiles, that you would be for salvation unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Note from the Holy Bible Recovery Version This word is a quotation from Isa. 49:6, which refers to Christ as God’s Servant, whom God made a light to the Gentiles that His salvation might reach to the end of the earth. Because he was one with Christ in carrying out God’s salvation in Christ, the apostle Paul applied this prophetic word to himself in his ministry of gospel preaching for the turning of the gospel from the Jews, because of their rejection, to the Gentiles. In His ministry on earth the Lord expressed the same thing to the stubborn Jews in Luke 4:24-27.

Light of the Gentiles, is a strong phrase that struck me deeply. Have I been so all these years of my Christian life and service? Not merely preaching the gospel in season and out of season, not merely shepherding the believers now and then, not merely praying for sinners' salvation, not merely living a normal Christian life in a normal church life, or not even merely being a light to the Gentiles, have I really been a light of the Gentiles? I hope that this is not an enigma to me. I must be able to say with full assurance that I am indeed a light of the Gentiles. This must be my testimony as the Lord commanded so. If such be the case, there need not be any struggling in bring men to Christ. When we are the light itself, by definition, light shines! When light shines it dispels all darkness and needs no reasoning. It simply shines and dispels all darkness. For this is the nature and effect of light. So much the more, the heaven, divine and spiritual light of God. 

People can argue with claims of truth, but never with light. By being one with Christ as the great Light, we are the light of the Gentiles. Through growth in life and the dispensing of the divine light into us, gradually, our person and work are becoming one. As we become one with Christ, then we become light itself. Paul's ministry was the ministry of light. So must our ministry be. He was one with Christ to such an extend that he became one with the Light, in fact, light itself.

When the Lord was on the earth He was the Light. 

John 8:12 - Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. 

The Lord in Himself is the light of the world. The Lord in us makes us the light of the world. As believers who are growing and becoming one with Him, the Light, we are the light of the world. In fact,  we become light itself. 

Matt. 5:14 - You are the light of the world. It is impossible for a city situated upon a mountain to be hidden.

Eph. 5:8-10 - For you were once darkness but are now light in the Lord; walk as children of light (For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), proving what is well pleasing to the Lord.

As we do pray for the light to shine on the Gentiles, much more we must pray that we become the light of God to shine on the Gentiles; God’s light shining in us and through us. This has been my burden and prayer as I pray and care for many new believers and are endeavoring to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.

Lord, may such be our testimony as Christians!

Romantic Christian

Loving the Lord to Fulfill His Purpose

Rev. 4:11 - You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for You have created all things, and because of Your will they were, and were created. 

Eph. 1:4-5 - Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love, predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. 

2 Tim. 1:9 - Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the times of the ages

2 Tim. 3:10 - But you have closely followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, endurance.

Rom. 8:28 - And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

God has a purpose and we were created by God for His purpose. God's purpose is His will, and He delights in the fulfillment of His will. This is what makes Him happy. For His purpose He called us. Paul, the apostle knew his calling and imparted the same burden to Timothy who closely followed Paul's teaching. As much as Paul was for God’s purpose, so was Timothy, and so was Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and so we are today. In fact,  so am I. Apart from God's purpose, I have no meaning in life. All that I am, and will be must be for God's purpose. 

We must know, not merely believe, that all things indeed work together for good, to those who love God, to fulfill God’s purpose. Herein is loving God and God’s purpose going together. 

God’s purpose is fulfilled by loving the Lord: loving the Lord in the way of enjoying Him. We need His present presence all the time and have personal, affectionate, private and spiritual relationship with Him. Without loving the Lord there is no way for us to fulfill God's purpose.

This is the Lord's speaking to me these days. 

Herein lies the difference between being a religious Christian in Christianity and be a romantic Christian loving the Lord and serving Him all the days of our lives. Christianity's goal may be heaven but God’s goal is the Body of Christ that consummates the New Jerusalem. Christianity may appreciate ability to serve God but God appreciates the divine quality of the serving ones. Christianity may use gifts but God uses gained persons, not merely gifts per se. Christianity may be religious in its nature and works but God wants Christians to love Him and serve Him in love. Any work that is not out of the first love towards the Lord is religious. We must not be religious in any way, we must be loving the Lord and be a romantic Christian working together with the Beloved to fulfill God’s purpose on the earth. We serve the Lord because we love the Lord. As we serve the Lord in love, our work must be for the Body. When we serve the Lord because we love Him, we enjoy our service, and such service fulfills the Lord's purpose.

Even as I consider my service in the light of the Lord's speaking, I might have been falling short of being romantic in my serving the Lord. Perhaps, I might have been faithful to carry out my duties and discharge my responsibilities, but without any sweet feeling and enjoyment within. If such be the case, I have indeed been fallen. I need a recovery, a recovery of loving the Lord and serving Him in love in a way of enjoyment. This reminds me of the Lord's calling when I first consecrated my whole life to serve the true and living God. 

Deuteronomy 10:12  And now, O Israel, what does Jehovah your God ask of you except that you fear Jehovah your God so that you would walk in all His ways and love Him and serve Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul; 

Lord, save me from being a religious Christian. Gain me and fill me with Your love to love You and serve You and a be a romantic Christian.

Age of the Body

Today we are not only in the age of grace in general, but particularly in the age of the Body. Under the Lord’s grace we have been ushered into the Body, and the Lord today, in His heavenly ministry, is building up His Body. This is the unique work the Lord is doing today, and this is the work of the ministry, and this is the work we must do as Christians.  

Eph. 4:12 - For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ. 

Not knowing this age and not caring for the Body is a grave ignorance under the blinding works of the devil. We need the Lord’s mercy, first of all, to know the age, and then to carry out the work the Lord desires in this age. 

Rom. 12:2 - And do not be fashioned according to this age..

The age we live in, in this world is the present evil age. Negatively, we must be aware of the satanic blinding of today's generation and his destructive work as anti to the work of God. Even the religious, ethical, moral and good works in the eyes of man which are not according to God for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ are mere substitutes and blinding works of Satan that leads people astray in this present evil. Therefore, we must not be fashioned according to this age. Instead, we must positively look to the Lord for His enlightening to see the heavenly vision and must know the spiritual age we are in, the age of the Body. With the divine, spiritual and heavenly light from the Lord in the light of the scriptures, especially, in the epistles of Paul, we can see the vision of the age and thereby look to the Lord for His mercy to carry out the work of the Body. 

The work of the Body today is the building up of the Body. Building takes place in the way of life ordained by God. The way of life begets, nourishes, perfects and builds up. Anything that has life takes the way of life. And life grows and builds up unto maturity and perfection. The principle in physical life applies to the spiritual as well. Therefore, in the age of grace, in the age of the Body, we must take the way of life ordained by God. All that we say and do must be for the growth in life for the building up of one another in love, for the building up of the Body of Christ. 

Col. 1:28 - Whom we announce, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man full-grown in Christ. 

The burden therefore is crystal clear; as Christians living in the age of the Body we must see the Body, know the Body and do the work of the Body. And for the building up of the Body, we ourselves must pursue the growth in life and carry out the work of perfecting the saints, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man full-grown in Christ. 

This is what the Lord has been speaking to me these days. And I believe this is the up-to-date speaking of the Lord. 

To this extend, whoever or whatever we are, wherever we may be, we must be Body conscious in all our living and service. More specifically this time,  as we carry out the translation of the New Testament Recovery Version Bible into six Indian languages, we have taken all steps in fellowship with the Body and would not do anything in haste until a thorough fellowship, and,  genuine and sweet one accord is perfectly realized among all the saints concerned. Certain practical decisions we withhold for further fellowship and take care of the feeling and oneness in the Body, particularly with the coworkers bearing the burden of the Lord's work in India. 

These are the practical steps the Lord has been teaching me in my service to do the work of the Body. 

Ultimately, all that we do is for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ. 

Lord, grace us to do the work of building up Your Body in the way of life as ordained by You in this age of the Body. 

Buy Truth, Buy Gold...

Buy truth, and do not sell it;

Buy wisdom and instruction and understanding. 

Prov. 23:23 

As we were fellowshipping over dinner with a couple of brothers last night I was so impressed by the matter of "buying". Anything that is worthy needs a price to pay. Even if received for free, it was paid for by someone else. Concerning the truth, we must also pay the price to buy the truth. Only when there is some payment involved then there is the worth with it. 

When many people bargain for the truth it is because their hearts are not pure and sincere. For things of necessity or even worldly things, many believers can shell out thousands of rupees. But when it comes to the matter of spiritual pursuit or paying the price for spiritual matters, the degraded tendency is, "it should have been for free!" Even if not, it must be cheap. With this attitude, how can one really except the Lord's blessing? When this topic was fellowshipped, I testified of how my conscience would not allow me to buy the New Testament Recovery Version just for Rs.5 when the brothers did a distribution in my campus in 2001 at MCC, Chennai. Instead, I  took 2 Copies and paid Rs. 500 for it as I deemed proper according to my conscience. Later, that Bible for which I paid the price became so useful to me that I received so many revelation from the studying of it. Which later ushered me into the church-life in the Lord's recovery. And the other I gifted to my best friend who now is in the church life. 

Besides, two weeks ago, I was so burdened by the Lord concerning the need for paying the price to buy three things as spoken to the church in Laodicia. I reckon my situation was just that of the degraded church. And the Lord spoke strongly in the matter of paying the price to gain Him.

Rev. 3:18 - I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire that you may be rich, and white garments that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness may not be manifested, and eyesalve to anoint your eyes that you may see. 

Notes from the Bible, Recovery Version:

Buying requires the paying of a price. The degraded recovered church must pay a price for gold, white garments, and eyesalve, which she desperately need. 

Gold (1 Pet. 1:7;  1 Cor. 3:12-13)
In the Bible our operating, working faith (Gal. 5:6) is likened to gold (1 Pet. 1:7), and the divine nature of God, which is the divinity of Christ, is typified by gold (Exo. 25:11). By faith we partake of the divine nature of God (2 Pet. 1:1, 4-5). The degraded recovered church has the knowledge of the doctrines concerning Christ but not much living faith to partake of the divine element of Christ. She needs to pay the price to gain the golden faith through the fiery trials that she may participate in the real gold, which is Christ Himself as the life element to His Body. Thus she can become a pure golden lampstand (1:20) for the building of the golden New Jerusalem (21:18)

White  (Rev. 3:5)
In figure, garments signify conduct. White garments here signify conduct that can be approved by the Lord. Such conduct is the Lord Himself lived out of the church, and it is required by the degraded recovered church for the covering of her nakedness.  

EyesalveThe eyesalve needed to anoint their eyes must be the anointing Spirit (1 John 2:27), who is the Lord Himself as the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). The degraded recovered church needs this kind of eyesalve also for the healing of her blindness. For the three items mentioned in this verse, she must pay the price. 

To pay the price spiritually is the giving up of anything that hinders us from gaining gold, the white garment, and the eyesalve; all these things are Christ Himself. Anything that frustrates my enjoyment of Christ, that hinders my growth in life, that obstructs my going on with the Lord and with the saints must be thoroughly dealt with. If there are things to be given up to clear these blockages, I must trust in the Lord’s grace and give them up. That giving up of the obstacles is the paying of the price. 

The ministry of the word helps me a lot in this matter. The Lord's speaking through the ministry as I pursued the truth personally and corporately, has nourished me so much. I shared this burden of paying the price with the brothers in our brothers' fellowship and also with the saints in the Lord’s Day morning. It was indeed a message and food supply from the Lord to the church on that day. 

O for the grace to pay the price to gain Christ as the gold, the white garments and the eyesalve!

Family Fellowship

With the dawn of the new year, the Lord burdened me to spend more time with those within my family circle and those who are staying with my family. Though there are saints waiting for visitation and shepherding, I was so busy with my official responsibility that till date I could hardly find time to visit them. Repeated request for visiting them were postponed to an unknown date, I don't know when. Now the case is that there are too many seekers and saints waiting for shepherding. In the midst of all these I gave my priority to those who are in my own family, and those who are with me in the same house. 

One by one, I fellowshipped and prayed with them. All of them need special attention and shepherding. One of them, a young one preparing for her Board exam, the other two in the midst of struggling for survival spiritually, as they had been through severe turmoil and hardship in their personal lives. Now I pay special attention to these ones first. First thing first, and the rest will be taken care in due time. 

In personal fellowship, I am beginning to understand their real situation; their struggles in life, their feelings about things and the way to help them. I have to sincerely confess that I cannot help them at all, but shepherd them to turn to the Lord who is the good Shepherd and can truly render special care. Till date, what I can at the most do is, pray, and pray and pray. That's all I  can do and nothing more. While at home or abroad, I would pray personally and with my wife for all these dear ones. I truly have come to the point of utter helplessness in helping these ones with their situation except to pray with them and pray for them. 

Now is the time for yet another exercise of faith, first of all to have faith in the Lord and have faith in the prayer I am offering. My deep concern is, if I cannot be a blessing to my own household how can I be of any blessing outside? As much as the Lord's life grows from within, so much more His shepherding from the family, then to the others.

Family fellowship is as important as any other fellowship of the church and with the saints. I must not be overtly spiritual to assume that all is well at home as long as I take care of the saints outside family circle. Perhaps, there may be exceptional cases, but family life must never be neglected nor sacrificed for the sake of "shepherding" outside. Not that the saints should not be shepherded, but that family must not and never be neglected. Serving ones of the Lord must learn this, and must learn it thoroughly well for the sake of the Lord's testimony as a family and then as the church eventually.

Lord, shepherd my family. Yes even the extended family and also all the saints in the local church to be Your testimony.

Three Brothers

There are three brothers serving full time in the literature service from whom I draw a spiritual lessons of prayer in faith and prophesying in faith. These brothers had served full time in the past and left, for the reasons best known to them. Nevertheless, they could not be aloof for long and now they have all come back to exercise their gifts in their respective service recently. 

About a year ago I was in our Chennai office when I fellowshipped with the serving ones to pray for those who had left the service. I remember telling all the saints in faith that they should pray for these ones until they were recovered back to their normal function in the Body. When speaking such, I exercised my faith and told them that they all would be recovered back. Even challenged them to pray that they should be recovered back before the end of that year. That was last year, 2016.

These three had their own stories and valid reasons for leaving their services. But one thing they perhaps did not know was, they were chosen by the Lord and that in wanting to pursue their own career the Lord was giving them a "wilderness" training. I believe they must have had a "wilderness walk in the valley of the shadow of death" and learned that they had no way to go on in their darkness. Until one day the Lord's light dawned on them and they were gradually recovered back to their respective service in the Body. What a mercy! 

Sometimes, such experiences are needed to learn lessons of life. When brothers' fellowship meant nothing to them and they were lost in their own world, the Lord had to deal with them inwardly, deeply and thoroughly. But the mercy of the Lord never fails, in time, He perfectly does what He needs to do. 

This time round, when I met all the three brothers, I just praised the Lord for His sovereignty and thanked Him for His multifarious wisdom. I did get time to fellowship with these brothers and all of them testified in joy to be recovered back. Praise the Lord! 

Now, in their coming back, "home coming", they are more exercised and serious about their service before the Lord. May the Lord preserve them to exercise the gift given to them and function normally in their portion in the  Body. 

This is no mere lesson of comeback story, but a lesson of faith, a lesson of prayer and prophesying in faith. Had there not been some to pray and even intercede on their behalf, I seriously doubt if they ever would be recovered back. For some reasons, the Lord has given me this special burden of praying for the recovery of many saints who have gone astray, both in the spiritual world as much in the religious world and the physical world. 

I believe in my prayer, else I should not pray a vain and hopeless prayer. And since the Lord graced me the faith to pray, I must faithfully pray to move the hand of God. And pray and pray until I see the result of the Lord's answers to the prayer, like these three brothers and the many more to be recovered.

A Poignant Parting

It was in December 2016 I met a brother after over one and a half decade, when we had sweet time of fellowship amidst the critical health issue his wife was facing then. Eight months later, with a brother and myself, I met his wife again when she was quite normal and could sit and converse. I remember, We fellowshipped on "Calling upon the Name of the Lord." Another few months later, I could meet only the brother as her health became even more critical, she was in the ICU. As a brother I had been encouraging him to leave all to the Lord as He knows best, and just trust in Him. Often we prayed together over the phone and even arranged a fasting prayer for her health with a couple of other brothers. Only to finally learn that she went to be with the Lord. I was not very surprised though I wish her a complete recovery. I did go to meet the brother and had a word of prayer, but what else could I do? I had no words, but encouraged him to amen whatever the Lord did as He knows best. I sincerely had nothing to say, but prayed for him. When all the condolences and funeral services were over, he sent me some photos of her grave. My deep feeling before the Lord was messaged as thus. 

Dear Brother D...., 

One thing we do know amidst the multitude of mysteries, He is God and He has the supreme sovereignty over all, not excluding​ our lives. Only He knows why He did things the way He did. And, is and ever He will be who He is. He is God, and we simply say amen to all His deeds, though many times, painfully, perhaps, even with bitter tears. Despite such, we still worship Him for He is God. 

May we experience grace in hard times as this, and gain Christ. Blessed shall we be, if we are graced to trust Him, and experience Him deeply even in sickness as much in health, in poverty as much in riches, and even in death as much in living. 

Much grace to you my beloved brother. Remember, the God who takes also gives much more, in His time.

The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you. 2 Tim. 4 :22 

Let us consider the death of Rachel as well in the light of the Word. 

The Death of RachelGen. 35:16 - And they journeyed from Bethel. And while there was still some distance to come to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth; and she had hard labor.
Gen. 35:17 - And while she was in hardest labor, the midwife said to her, Do not be afraid, for now you have another son.
Gen. 35:18 - And as her soul was departing (for she died), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.
Gen. 35:19 - So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
Gen. 35:20 - And Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave, which is there to this day. 

Note from the Holy Bible Recovery VersionRachel was Jacob’s natural choice according to his heart’s desire (29:18-20). The death of Rachel was the loss of Jacob’s natural choice. This was a deep and personal dealing for Jacob. Jacob lost Rachel, but in the process he gained Benjamin, who was a type of Christ.

“Rachel” had to die so that “Benjamin” could be born. In the same manner, God will eventually take away our natural choice so that we may bring forth Christ for His expression. God’s goal is not to make His chosen ones suffer loss; it is to bring forth Christ through them.

It was a poignant parting, but we can learn and learn and gain Christ. I am aware over FB post that today there was a memorial meeting at his locality. Despite all the pain, parting while on earth is just a matter of time. Mostly sad, yet in the Lord, all is for good.

In fact, one night I could not sleep, and as I was praying for my dear brother, two hymns came to mind which were written based on similar poignant parting. One being, "It is Well" by Horatio Spafford and the other "Day by Day" by Carolina Sandell. The Lord gives and the Lord takes in His time. Though a poignant parting, amidst the pain, it is the Lord's pleasure to do so. And having grace and accepting the fact with thanskgiving is a blessing.