Body-Faith

Body-faith, I wonder if such word was ever used. If not, may I be the first to coin and use this word. By this I mean, a faith corporately exercised by the saints in coordination and in one accord in the Body concerning the Lord's supply, either spiritually or physically, to meet the need of the Body, by the Body, and for the Body. 

By the Lord's mercy, I have enjoyed the blessings of God's bountiful provision for my personal needs and others as well, time and again, in many circumstances. Yes, that is a normal Christian experience, though individually. But now the Lord is leading me further to exercise the same faith in the Body, as the Body, with the Body and for the Body. 

The Lord has granted me the opportunity to learn this lesson of Body-faith these days. As we have decided, in the Lord's leading and in fellowship with the Body, to translate the Recovery Version New Testament into several Indian languages to begin with, perhaps three or even six. And the burden is not just to expect the financial supply to meet the need from overseas saints or churches, but to generate it locally within India itself. Not that we would not receive offering from abroad, but the principle is, to help the saints in India to experience the Lord’s supply of grace and break through in financial matters. Though the churches in India may be new, young, and few, but this should not be an excuse in anyway. All the saints should bear the same burden and offer for this project until we can testify of the Lord's blessing in abundance and even ask the saints to stop the offering because the offering is much more than actually needed. 

As I, and a group of brothers, have the responsibility to oversee the practical carrying out of this project, and practically handling the finance, I begin to witness the Lord's supply. At one point, considering the great amount of money needed for this project, I exercised my spirit to pray and also exercised my faith for the need to be met, the Lord's instant speaking to me personally was, "let it be the Body-faith." Since then, I was deeply comforted that I am not bearing this burden alone, but the whole Body bearing the same burden, and the whole Body exercising the same faith. This is the experience of the Body-faith. 

Step by step, I have been graced to witness the Lord’s timely supply for every stage. The first stage was the preparation of the infrastructure for the project, an amount of Rs. 6,16,580. It was amazing, just when it was time to purchase the said infrastructure, offerings to the tune of Rs. 6,50,000+ came. After this, the next need is for the monthly support of the serving ones for this project, a sum of Rs. 2,64,000. And as of now, Rs. 3,00,000+ offerings from different saints and churches have been received. This is a practical subjective experience of the Body faith. 

This, indeed, is a new lesson to me; exercising and experiencing the Body-faith. Not just faith experienced individually but corporately as the Body, by the Body, with the Body and for the Body, the Body faith. 

Lord, grace me to experience such Body-faith hence forth. 

Ground Zero

Everything surrounding me and the feeling I have deep within, when evaluating in the light I have received from the Lord, seems to tell me that all things are on ground zero. My evaluation yields more of negative result than positive; a self assessment of my life and services, but this is not a religious introspection. I personally feel my judgement may be accurate as I know myself in the light the Lord has been shining on me these days and also confirmed in fellowship with some matured brothers. Be it my service in the literature, or in the church, I have been having this sense of really being on ground zero. I have nothing to boast of any achievement or success,  even if there be any, as my being is desperately open to the Lord for His dealings, yet all in His loving mercy and grace. 

The two brothers, my Onesimus' that I and my wife have been shepherding in a way of giving them hospitality have not been doing well these days. They seems to create more troubles for themselves, among themselves, and even to an extent, for our family. At times there are concerns of their welfare, both spiritual and physical, and other times, a deep concern for our family and our growing children. Yet everytime I brought the matter to the Lord, the Lord’s speaking is, just to be quite and let them stay with us. My impatience for waiting too long for a quick result ran out few days ago. I personally confronted one of them verbally, rebuking severely and even threatening to let them leave the house and be by themselves, but the Lord would not honor my self reaction as He definitely has a better plan. Thank God, I restraint myself and stopped pursuing the matter. 

Following the incident, I was deeply humbled because of my helplessness and I seriously intensified my intercessory prayer for them. From then on, I fully submit my self, my family and the brothers to the Lord's loving hand. And I fellowshipped the same burden with my wife. I even told her, the Lord as the good Shepherd will shepherd us and them, and later, this will become our testimony of practical shepherding. If we could both pass this test of shepherding troublesome brothers, we would be able to shepherd any saints in the future. We both agreed in one accord to learn this lesson of shepherding from ground zero. 

Similarly, the Lord also enlightened me to see my helpless situation in the church as well concerning the saints. Though we all are saints indeed, the vitality and practise of the God-ordained way as we normally should carry out hasn't been realized yet. Each saint has their own situation only which the Lord can interfere and deliver them from. Often my prayer has just been, "O Lord,  have mercy!" What else can I pray? The Lord's mercy is what we need. 

Looking at my service too,  though all is well to others. But to my deeper assessment I could see a lot of room for improvement. Ranging from spiritual to physical, many areas need to be improved. Our standard of service must go up, our quality of production must be uplifted, and our infrastructure and personnel skill needs to be upgraded. 

With all these analysis in view, I deeply feel, I am still on ground zero. Had it been the world that I am serving, management skill would be a great help. Not that I am ignorant of management, I just cannot exercise my human skill without the Lord’s anointing and blessing. So, with much hope I resign from what I can perhaps do, and simply recline at the Lord's feet for His working in me and through me for His divine purpose. 

Yes, I now stand and henceforth, begin my journey afresh from ground zero. Trusting the Lord shepherding care, practical guidance and His blessing, I look forward to and expect the Lord's blessing from ground zero. Amen

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.