Spiritual Discernment

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in full knowledge and all discernment, Philippians 1:9

Spiritual discernment is a necessity in serving the Lord, without which one can easily be fooled by the tricks and traits of the enemy resulting in unnecessary pains and losses. One often is rendered useless for lack of spiritual discernment. I need such a strong and sensitive spiritual discernment in my service. I confess I have wasted so much time and energy just because of my deficiency in spiritual discernment. As a serving one of the Lord, my love must abound in full knowledge and all discernment. 

An elder brother who I deem so highly for his sharp and sensitive spiritual discernment has fellowship this matter of spiritual discernment and it was such an eye opening to me. As he fellowshipped I was so convicted of my lack for spiritual discernment. Many incidents were brought to my memory in which I fell short in proper discernment and wasted my time and energy. I regretted deeply and wished that I could have exercised more wisdom. In may cases, I felt being cheated or played fool by the enemy for lack of spiritual discernment. Thank God for the Lord's timely speaking that awakened me. Some point of the brothers' fellowship are:    

We need to have a pool's eyes, meaning broad eyes, to see things clearly. The four living creatures in the Bible are full of eyes. We need such eyes with spiritual perceptions which are keen. In fact, this is a spiritual function. Without which, much of our service will be in the dark, as it was already in the dark. Because our experience and understanding are inadequate, our discernment could be raw, one sided, imbalanced or even outrightly wrong. Such wrong perception is because of wrong experience and wrong concepts. 

We have been fooled by self deception. How to live in full knowledge and all discernment? The yardstick for spiritual discernment is the knowledge of life and experience of life; the books on the same titles are guides for us to understand life. In our church life and service we need to have a keen discernment and understanding. Many things we cannot discern because we are color blind. If we have no discernment the world is just black and white. Spiritually we are affected by color blindness because of ignorance. Discernment must go hand in hand with discipline, to understand different condition.

What then is the panacea for lack of spiritual discernment? The Lord's dealing. The Lord's dealing makes one able to understand the real situation of people; one must go through a sever dealing and learning to be able have the full discernment. Another lesson to learn is, a need for listening to a lot of proper messages, to receive all the ingredients of the Lord's speaking, to be constituted with it, and live by it.  

In Mathew 13, the second kind of soil exactly explains the reason for lack of discernment. There must be a thorough dealing with the hidden rocks within, a thorough consecration. The deeper the root of the seed is, the stronger the plant will become. All hidden rocks in the soil must be dealt with one by one to clear off all obstacles to be able to have a proper spiritual sight and discernment.

This fellowship was very useful particularly to me. As I have been experiencing different situations in which I felt I should have exercised more wisdom before I made certain decisions. Every time a matter was decided I realised that I had been fooled to some extend. I am not too sure either if I were actually fooled or not, though I felt being fooled. But the point is, I need more spiritual wisdom and discernment. And thank the Lord for sending an elderly wise brother to minister on the same subject, especially to me.

Lord, grace me the spiritual wisdom and discernment I need. 

Bodily Exercise

For bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the present life and of that which is to come. 1 Timothy 4:8

An elder and experienced brother from Hong Kong came to fellowship with some brothers yesterday. On seeing some of us, he was burdened to speak on taking care of our physical health for the Lord's sake, though he originally intended to speak on the divine and mystical realm. His speaking, though down to earth, was to me the Lord's speaking. I need such a speaking lest I care less for physical health with the overemphasis on spiritual health. 

I have been quoting 1 Timothy 4:8 again and again to release my burden on the importance of exercising the human spirit with special emphasis on "godliness is profitable for all things." Every time I contrasted with the "bodily exercise," and hardly gave any important on physical exercise. Godliness will be of no use if the person who is godly is physically unwell or bedridden or die. For the expression of godliness, a healthy body is needed. In fact, the two are equally important. 

I was so enlightened to see this point from a brother's fellowship: The Lord has invested so much on you, saving you, working on you, training and perfecting you, for so many years. What if for health sake you die so soon? All the years of training and perfecting will be wasted!

He even cited a real life example of some useful brothers who died so young. Their usefulness have not really been utilized for health's sake. One crucial area of health care is a proper, normal, timely, and balanced diet. The food habit of Indians are not healthy in general. No wonder the general life span is very low. The serving ones in India should not be a victim of negligent or ignorant healthcare and die so young. 

That was a warning to me too. And I was freshly reminded of my need to take care of my health. In fact, it was a confirmation of what my wife has been reminding me over and over again. Generally, when the meal of my taste was cooked I tend to eat more, and that definitely was not healthy. My food habit needs "revival" too.

Besides the food habit, there is also a need for regular bodily exercise. This also has been neglected at least on my part. Though I used to do an evening walk with prayer, I have to do more exercise to keep my body healthy and strong for the Lord's interest. Definitely, I do not want to die prematurely because of ill health.

As much as I maintain my regular spiritual exercise, I have to do a regular bodily exercise as well. This time I was deeply convicted of my negligence in healthcare and looked to the Lord for grace to be able to care for my physical health as well. Perhaps, now I am still young and my real health condition has not been manifested yet. Before its too late, I better be wise, learn from the learned brothers, and heed to the Lord's speaking.

Bodily exercises does profit, thought a little. And that "little" can make all the differences in my service to the Lord.

My prayer these days has been, "Lord, grant me a strong spirit, a renewed mind filled with the mind of Christ, a transformed emotion that loves You, a subdued will that obeys You absolutely, and a healthy body to be able to serve You all the days of my life.

Lord, grace me a healthy body with a strong spirit. 

Care for God's Need

An elder  brother from the church in Singapore came to visit us, the church in Gurgaon, with whom we had a time of fellowship together. The Lord used our brother to address the lack in our service, I believe particularly me. His speaking was so apt and so timely. Though he knew nothing about the real situation of the church we have been going through, he addressed the need of the church, especially in the matter of gaining increase in number. 

We have been shepherding many new ones who have not yet been recovered to the Lord's table meeting, but rather are enjoying fellowshipping with them in their homes. In all my shepherding visit to the new ones, I have been addressing their specific need and they were very nourished and cherished. So they liked me visiting them as much as possible. Yes, its good to meet their need, that's what a normal and proper shepherd should do. But much more, I should also minister to them God's need. God has a need too which far superseded our human need. God's need for Christ and the church must be wrought into the believers' being. In fact, they should be properly educated on the truth concerning the gathering together of the saint as God's flock, the significance of the Lord's table meeting, the importance of blending and building up with one another.

There are also some other needs like language. A group of new ones are all Hindi speaking ones and they obviously could not fully enjoy the meetings in English. This is another practical issue that need to be addressed. Other issue is the timing of the meeting, and practical human care.  All these needs properly addressed should deliver all the new ones into the flock of God.

As much as God care for our need, we must also care for God's need. In fact, God meeting our need is to meet His need as well. If our needs were not met, we could not meet God,s need either. And vice versa; if God's need were not taken care, our needs will not be taken care either. Working together with the Lord must be in mutuality. There are human responsibilities in meeting human needs, and there are also human responsibilities and meeting God's need. 

My view, burden, and goal of shepherding has been renewed by the Lord's speaking through a member of the Body. Praise the Lord!

Henceforth, may the Lord grace me to shepherd the new ones with God's need apart from their specific needs.

The Lord does speak and he has been speaking through the members of His Body. Amen.

If You Believe

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes into Me, even if he should die, shall live; And everyone who lives and believes into Me shall by no means die forever. Do you believe this? She said to Him, Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, He who comes into the world. John 11:25-27

Jesus said to her, Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God? John 11:40

New ones, gospel friends, saints, and we ourselves are going through different situations. Many times, the many things one goes through in life are so cumbersome that it feels as if one is entangled in his own viscous circle of life like a captivated bird caged in a cage. Day by day, month by month, and year by year this hidden chain of bondage seems to bind one with seemingly no hope of deliverance. Spiritually, its almost like a death case with no hope of recovery. But the Lord's word here is so lively, "I am the resurrection and the life." What one goes through in deadness can surely be delivered by the Lord who is the resurrection and the life. But with a condition that one believes into the One who is resurrection and life. The Lord Jesus Christ is such a one. What a hope in Christ!

As I have been praying for and are burdened to shepherd many new ones with different "impossible cases," I was reminded by the Lord that He is the Lord and He is the resurrection and the life. I simply have to believe into Him and also in His word. Then, hopeless cases will become hopeful. 

I believe in the Lord and His word, therefore, I dare not easily give up the burdens the Lord bestowed upon me. I still exercise my faith to continue to pray for them, and pray I will, until the burdens within me are fully released and the points prayed for are fully answered. How longer it takes is all up to the Lord. My job is simply to believe in the Lord and His word.   

This speaking of the Lord happened while I was in a train on my way back from a week long trip at the end of last month. Whatever the situation of the ones I have been praying for may be, I still believe in the Lord that many of the "dead ones" will actually be "resurrected" by the Lord who is the life and the resurrection. Yes, I do believe. O how I long and hope to see that day! The day of the manifestation of the Lord's glory even through the many ones of these I have been praying for, in faith.

Lord, I believe, and so shall it be.

The Gospel to Keikhu

The Gospel of Jonah has confirmed the burden within me for many years for the salvation of my villager, Keikhu, in Imphal. When I was a boy my maternal grandfather encouraged me to study hard and become a respected officer and then preach the gospel to my villagers. Yes, I did study hard and got the best education, and followed the Lord’s leading to serve the living God. Though I never became an officer of his dream as I rather chose to follow the Lord. I have traveled to many parts of India, and have participated in the gospel preaching and raising up of the Lord's testimony in many localities. Now the specific burden is for my own village. For this, we pray and intercede almost on a daily basis. The salvation of Keikhu is drawing near. 

It was the 19th of May 2017 while in fasting and praying, the Lord clearly confirmed the burden for Keikhu and the many Nagas, my fellow tribesmen in the flesh, who are still living as Gentiles even after a century of the arrival of the gospel to their land. They simply rejected it by clinging on to the customs and traditions of the forefathers. Time has come, and indeed it is now, the gospelization of my tribesmen should commence, as it has been in prayer so shall it be in the actual salvation of them all. This burden is not merely for salvation from eternal perdition but also for the fulfillment of God's eternal purpose in the building up of the Body of Christ. Half way works of Christianity must be avoided, but we must usher in God’s complete salvation. Not merely bring them to salvation but also shepherd them and usher them into the church life for the building up of the Body of Christ.

The epicenter for this burden of the salvation of my tribesmen is Keikhu. From here the many Rongmei villages of Manipur, Nagaland, Assam and Myanmar, and the other unbelieving Naga tribes will be gained. This is the burden and this is also the faith the Lord imparted into me. Now is the time for the preparation of the vessel, perhaps like Jonah, "in the belly of a fish under the sea." 

In Nineveh, the number of people saved through Jonah was 120,000 people. This is the same amount of people not saved yet among the Nagas in general as per census. May the Lord bless this burden and bring it into fruition. 

Now in Keikhu about ten families have come to the faith, half of them in the church life, and real spiritual battle is raging in the heavenlies; this has been manifested among the saints and also among the villagers themselves. Many youths have been spoiled by lack of education and the illegal means of livelihood they have been practicing by brewing and selling country liquor. The end result is, the youth themselves became addicted to the very liquor that brewed for livelihood. Only the Lord has to rescue the people of Keikhu physically and spiritually too. This is the burden the Lord has been imparting to me these days.

 

As a preparation I have also shared this burden to some brothers from the same background. In fact, the Lord has raised a dozen of brothers and sisters who have gone through the training of the truth in the Lord's recovery. May the Lord gain all of us for the gospelization, truthization, and churchization of the entire community and the localities. 

The gospel to Keikhu has drawn near. Salvation be sooner than latter. 

Lord, save Keikhu!

The Gospel of Jonah

Jonah 1:2, 10; 3:2,4-6Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry out against it, for their evil has come up before Me. And the men became greatly afraid and said to him, What is this that you have done? For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Jehovah, because he had told them so. Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city; and proclaim to it the proclamation that I will speak to you. And Jonah began to go through the city a day’s journey and cried out and said, Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overturned! And the men of Nineveh believed God, and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. And the word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne and put away his majestic clothes from him and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 

God’s Purpose

God had a propose and called Jonah. This is how God carried out His purpose. He did not accomplished His purpose from the heaven, but always works in the principle of incarnation through His created man on the earth. 

God’s Call

To fulfill His purpose, He called man, specifically chosen by Him for a specific task. For His divine purpose God chose and called Jonah. 

God's Commission 

The commission of God in calling Jonah was to preach the "gospel" to the citizens of Nineveh.

Jonah's Response 

The response of Jonah was contrary to God's call, he tried to ran away in disobedience. Such deed of disobedience was deemed as running away from God's presence. A life without the presence of God was as bad as if there was no life at all. Since God had already chosen Jonah, He would cause any situation, would use any person, matter or thing to gain what He wanted to gain. As the case with Johan was, the gentile crew members of the escapade ship he was with had to chastise him to call upon his God which led him to his confession of his being "runaway evangelist", and was finally thrown into the sea. Nevertheless, a temporary aquatic prison inside the belly of a great fish under the sea was used to bring Noah to his sense. So God would do anything for the recovery of His runaway child. There is no escape and no excuse for anyone whom God chooses. God never gave up on anyone and He never will. Come what may, He will use whoever or whatever to restore such ones.

Noah was then brought to repentance and he prayed a wonderful prayer that eventually became a divine record in the Bible. He returned back and set forth to Nineveh to fulfill God’s commission. 

What Noah preached was a simple gospel of declaring the Lord's warning, "Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overturned!" He must have traveled the length and breath of the city just declaring this warning. If one has to analyse the content of his message, it was just a statement. His prayer of repentance was much deeper and longer than his actual gospel. Here lies the principle of preparation before the actual act. His vessel had been prepared by the Lord inside the belly of a fish under the sea! What a training center! That too for three days and three nights only. He was a chosen vessel of God and through all the experiences he went through the Lord perfected him. When his being was prepared, he became one with God and what he spoke became God’s speaking. Therefore, he need not be a great or eloquent speaker, but just a prepared vessel, one with God, was sufficient to carry out God’s commission. The same principle holds today. 

The effect of his warning was that the whole city of Nineveh, including the rulers repented of their wickedness and escaped God’s wrath. To bring in great revival of that magnitude today, God needs a called, commissioned, and prepared vessel who is absolutely one with God, whose speaking is God's speaking, for the salvation of the Gentiles, even the wicked city like Nineveh. 

This is the gospel of Jonah. This is what I have been enjoying in a fresh way while reading the book of Jonah. What a revelation concerning God's love and His way of preaching the gospel of Jonah for the salvation of the wicked city of Nineveh!

Ministry of the Word in Varanasi

A famous religious city thronged by tens of thousands of pilgrims daily, welcomed us with her teeming devotees as a hive of bee as we unboarded the bus that took us to Varanasi, and as we took a three wheelers to the bank of the river Ganga in a lodge call "Yogi" where we were received by a brother who would lead us to the city, we prayed for the Lord's work of recovery to be carried out in this city. What was significant about this lodge was, the name, the location, the owner and his relationship with the then CM of UP: Yogi Lodge by the river Ganges owned by an RSS leader's son who has a direct and good relationship with the chief minister of the state,  Shri Yogiji. I felt good to stay in such a lodge as we visited the city for the Lord's testimony. Later, we had a dinner at a restaurant on the river bank of Ganga, facing the river with cool breeze from the Ganges soothing us from the heat of summer. My first reaction to such a city with such an arrangement, with a burden from the Lord for the city and the millions of seekers of the true and living God, was to kneel down and pray for the city with her people and multitude of visitors that the true and living God, Jesus Christ, would be made known, believed into, experienced and enjoyed by them all. All the spiritual thirst and quest can be satisfied only by Jesus Christ, the tree of life and the river of water of life. What has been sought for in the river Ganges in reality is the river of the water of life, Christ! 

Our day began with meeting Christian leaders and introducing the ministry books. The main leading pastor of the biggest Christian group was already a friend and a brother as we met him already in their youth camp in Nawab Ganj few days ago. All the ministry books were introduced to him and he received them as he also is teaching and training many believers under his care. Another well known Christian leader was also so impressed by the high peak truth literature we were distributing, especially the books in Hindi, that he introduced us to his bookstore manager who had gotten a set, and perhaps, this would be an opening for the spread of the ministry of the word in this city. We were also introduced to a group of Christian pastors to whom we introduced the ministry books and also ministered the word of God concerning the local churches, the significance of feet washing, fellowship, and a genuine local church as it is revealed in the Bible. The pastors were so impressed with the truth that they wanted to have further contact. 

We were glad the Lord took us to this city, and we released our burden of introducing the ministry of the word to all whom the Lord led us to meet up with. With all these seeds of the divine and high peak truths we trust the Lord will gain His heart's desire in this city. As we were on our way back to catch a train back to our home we praised the Lord for His faithfulness and timely leading; city by city, and people to people, at the right time, at the right place with the right people. The presence of the Lord is so dear and sweet throughout the entire literature trip.  

May the Lord, in His time, gain His testimony in this city, Varanasi!