Grace and Gift

Last weekend two sisters who were so much influenced by the charismatic movement of today's Christianity came with one specific question on the gift of tongue speaking. The topic of tongue speaking has been overemphasized that those who do not speak in "tongues" have been reckoned as "not receiving the Holy Spirit and/or not being genuinely saved." Ridiculous! 

To help the sisters who have been misled by some "pastors," we used the Bible to answers their questions. 

1 Corinthians
12:28  And God has placed some in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then works of power, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.
12:29  Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all have works of power?
12:30  Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret tongues?
12:31  But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And moreover I show to you a most excellent way.

Genuine tongue indeed is a spiritual gift, but it is just one of the many gifts, and not the unique gift. The Bible clearly says, "But earnestly desire the greater gifts." This greater gift is the gift of love in 1 Corinthians 13. And in 1 Corinthians 14, the charge is even more sever, "Pursue love, and desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy."

1 Corinthians 14
14:1   Pursue love, and desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
14:2   For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one hears, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries.
14:3   But he who prophesies speaks building up and encouragement and consolation to men.
14:4   He who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but he who prophesies builds up the church.
14:5   I desire that you all speak in tongues, but especially that you would prophesy; and greater is he who prophesies than he who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, that the church may receive building up.
14:6   But now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you, unless I speak to you either in revelation or in knowledge or in prophecy or in teaching?

With all these Bible verses we explained the gifts that we have to desire for, especially prophesying. For prophesying one needs to grow in life, be filled with the word of God, and also be filled with the Spirit to speak God into people. This builds up the church. As we ministered on this line using the word, one of the sisters wept in joy, as she was so supplied by the ministry of the word. The other sister who was so obsessed with tongue speaking finally confessed that her doubts about the confusion surrounding tongue speaking was finally cleared. 

To strengthen the explanation further we also used Acts 2 to explain the real meaning of tongues, not a mysterious sound but a dialect.

Acts 2:11Cretans and Arabians, we hear them speaking in our tongues the magnificent works of God?

Note on the Recovery VersionGk. glossa, used for two things in this chapter: the speaking organ in v. 3, and dialects in this verse and v. 4, referring to the dialect in vv. 6 and 8. This evidence leaves no ground for saying that tongue-speaking may be merely a voice or sound uttered by the tongue, the speaking organ; it must be a dialect, because what the disciples spoke in tongues (vv. 4, 11) were all different dialects (vv. 6, 8). In this sense, tongues and dialects are synonymous, used interchangeably in these verses.

Besides, speaking in tongues is not the only signs of being filled with the Holy Spirit, the other signs are speaking with the word of God with boldness, and being filled with joy.

Acts 4:31   And when they had so besought, the place in which they were gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.Acts 13:52  And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes, such question is worth answering for the sake of the edification of the believers and equipping them with the word of God. Many times, not knowing the word of God properly can lead one to some kind of religious bondage. In this case, "tongue speaking" is one bondage the believers are stuck with, either in speaking or not able to speak. The truth clarifies the confusion and sets one free from all bondages.

Another gift that is overemphasized is the gift of healing. Genuine healing is very much there as the Lord Himself is the Physician of physicians. I and my family have also been healed in many cases just by prayer and exercise of faith. But we never boast of it, and hardly I have spoken about it. I also do pray for the healing of some saints and new ones who does indeed receive healing. But this is just a gift, the healer is the Lord through the believers' faith. The healing should never be exalted above the Healer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In my study of the word, a particular verse with footnote is very significant.   

2 Tim. 4:20 - Erastus remained in Corinth, and Trophimus I left at Miletus sick. 

Why did the apostle leave in sickness one who was so intimate to him, without exercising healing prayer for him? Why did he not exercise his healing gift (Acts 19:11-12) to cure Timothy of his stomach sickness rather than instruct him to take the natural way for healing (1 Tim. 5:23)? The answer to both questions is that he and his co-workers were under the discipline of the inner life in that time of suffering rather than under the power of the outward gift. The former is a matter of grace in life; the latter is a matter of gift in power—miraculous power. In the decline of the church and in one’s suffering for the church, the gift of power is not needed as much as the grace in life.

Today, the Lord may bless us with different kind of gifts, including the first of healing. Praise the Lord for those, and they must be exercise properly with Christ as the main focus, the Head, center and circumference, always giving glory to the One who heals. Besides, there is a greater thing we must pay heed to; the growth in life. The growth in life is much more worth and to be desired more than the gift of healing. The apostles did exercised their gifts of healing initially in their ministry and it was needed, but later on, they depended mostly on the growth in life and took the natural way of healing under the discipline of the Holy Spirit rather than an instant healing that may not require any spiritual learning.

Shepherding new ones also has many benefits; not only the ones shepherded were blessed, but much more, the one who shepherds.

Lord, as you may grant us gifts, so much the more, grant us the grace to grow in life unto maturity.

Confession of My Son

Our medical check-up that has been due for long has finally been done today. My wife and I went to the clinic for all the necessary tests after a night long mandatory fast, and we had to go again after our breakfast for another blood sample for yet another kind of test. It was in our second visit to the clinic that we decided to take along our daughter and son as they could be released for the day after their daily home works. After all the checkup, we went to a grocery shop nearby to buy few items for the family. It was during this shopping spree that my son and daughter were spending time on a chewing gum showcase. When I noticed that they wanted a pack of gum I warned them not to touch anything. As children enjoying their favorites they did not walk away after my warning, but they lingered on until we checked out of the grocery.

When in the car on our drive back home, we noticed my son chewing a gum. Immediately we asked him where he had gotten the gum from the store. As we were very clear that we did not buy any gum for them nor did he had any before, we suspect something not right and would not let the matter die down so easily as we wanted our children to grow in fear of God and be disciplined. We decided to teach both of our children a precious lesson of not stealing nor taking anything without permission or without paying for it. 

Me and my wife took turn to question my son and daughter as we wanted them to be truthful and confess if they had indeed "stolen" the gum. Initially my son tried to cover up the matter by saying his sister gave it to him. But as we asked our daughter if she indeed gave the gum or not, she denied blatantly. But on the way we strictly reprimanded them not to take thing that does not belong to us nor that has not been paid for.

The moment we arrived home the conviction on our son was very obvious. He went straight into the room and wept. Still he did not tell the truth that he stole the gum from the shop. Out of deep conviction he decided not to eat lunch along with me, but mourned for his misdeed instead. I decided to leave him alone to let the conviction of his conscience do the work. In fact, I even led him to confess in prayer which he reluctantly did. But later, when I finished my lunch I went to talk to him and led him to pray. He just could not pray, but started weeping. I was glad that his conscience was doing the needed job. Though he wept, still he did not voluntarily confess yet. I would not force him either and wait.

But later, something transpire with him  and his mother, my wife. They both came into the room where I was taking a post lunch nap. My wife told me, my son had something to say. I was glad that he came up to speak to me the truth finally. I embraced him and allowed him to speak. Then he confessed in remorse that he actually took the chewing gum from the store. he wept as he confessed. I was so happy that he voluntarily confessed his sin. In his prayer was the confessing of his sin of stealing a chewing gum, and he asked the Lord Jesus to forgive him, and prayed further that the Lord would make him a  good boy. I too joined him in prayer. 

As a person grows, the sinful nature in within is manifested and the conscience began to work. Right from the time of the realization of this sense, it is best to led one to the Lord Jesus.

"Nip at the bud," an old proverb is a wonder-reminder of dealing with our conscience from early age. Confession must be a daily matter and it must begin at the earliest in life. By this way, one can be preserved from the fallen human nature and his character can be shaped to be a vessel the Lord created one for.

Pure Language

For then I will change the language of the peoples into a pure language that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve Him with one accord. Zephaniah 3:9

In His salvation to the Gentiles, Jehovah, in the time of restoration, will "change the language of the peoples into a pure language" (v. 9). To change a people's language is to change their culture because culture is wrapped up with language. The original language of any people is dirty and impure. But in His salvation God will change the language of the peoples into a pure language. When a person's language has become pure, this indicates that a person has been thoroughly saved.(Life-study of Zephaniah) 

This is a promise the Lord is fulfilling in the lives of many believers today, including mine. We were born into a human culture and were growing up in it. But through the salvation of the Lord Jesus, transformation has been going on, gradually changing our constitution inside-out. And this process has to go until we will be fully transformed to have a pure language.

This speaking of the Lord is very much in line with the burden the Lord has been burdening me for my own villagers, Keikhu. The culture of my village indeed is so strong that it becomes a part of their lives that they treasure so much to the extend of denying Christ with the fear that their most treasured culture would be changed because of Christ. Of course, that is the definite result of the Lord's salvation. In Christ, all these cultures have been crucified at the cross. What remains after crucifixion is the one new man, where Christ is all and in all.

Ephesians 2:15: Abolishing in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, so making peace,

Notes on "one new man" from the Recovery Version: The church is not only the church of God, the Body of Christ (the fullness, the expression, of the all-filling One — 1:23), and the household or family, the house, the temple, and the dwelling place of God (2:19, 21-22); it is also the one new man, which is corporate and universal, created of two peoples, the Jews and the Gentiles, and composed of all the believers, who, though they are many, are one new man in the universe.

God created man as a collective entity (Gen. 1:26). The corporate man created by God was damaged through man's fall; hence, there was the need for God to produce a new man. This was accomplished through Christ's abolishing in His flesh the ordinances and through His creating of the new man in Himself.

Colossians 3:10-11: And have put on the new man, which is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all.

Notes on "one new man" from the Recovery Version: In the new man there is room only for Christ. He is all the members of the new man and in all the members. He is everything in the new man. Actually, He is the new man, His Body (1 Cor. 12:12). In the new man He is the centrality and universality. He is the constituent of the new man, and He is all in all in the new man.

This is the pure language the Lord wants to accomplish among all created, redeemed, and regenerated mankind. And this is also my burden especially for my fellow tribesmen in the flesh that they became my fellow citizen in Christ.

Ephesians 2:19: So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 

By the Lord's salvation, one day, with all those whom I have been praying for, our language will be changed into a pure language that we may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve Him with one accord in the church-life, building up the Body of Christ, and becoming the testimony of Jesus!

Hasten that day, Lord!

Ministry of the Word

What is the ministry of the word? Who is the minister of the word? Can sister be minister of the word too? These were questions fellowshipped over with the responsible brothers of the church in Delhi and Gurgaon with an elderly and experienced brother. 

Quotation from brother Watchman Nee's speaking was a great help in this regard:

• If we are willing to humble ourselves and accept everything under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, the result will be the ministry of the word.
• The fruit of the work of the Holy Spirit is the ministry of the word. 
• Where there is the discipline of the Spirit, there is the ministry of the word through the New Testament ministers. Everyone who is used by God is beaten and molded by God. 
• Once we acknowledge the discipline of the Spirit we will have fruit; we will have the speaking, the ministry of the word, and we will be able to supply others with Christ. 

All the environmental circumstances were and are sovereignly ordained by God. If one learns a lesson out of such a discipline of the Holy Spirit, one will be constituted with the ministry of the word to be the minister of the word.

I was enlightened to learn this precious truth about the discipline of the Holy Spirit producing the ministry of the word. This brings me to my attention of all the experiences the Lord is gracing me to gain Him and be beaten, shaped, and perfected to be the minister of the ministry of the word. 

Even sisters, like brothers, are also under the discipline of the Holy Spirit to become the minster of the word. Though they may not function in violation of the Lord's in 1 Timothy 2:12 "But I do not permit a woman to teach or to assert authority over a man, but to be in quietness."

Note on "teach" here: To teach here means to teach with authority, to define and decide the meaning of doctrines concerning divine truth. For a woman to teach in this way or to exercise authority over a man is to leave her position. In God's creation man was ordained to be the head, and woman to be in subjection to man (1 Cor. 11:3). In the church this ordination should be kept.

Still sisters can function among sisters themselves and still be minister of the ministry of the word.

This fellowship was so enlightening to this extend that I shared the same to a brother who has been undergoing some kind of serious dealing especially in financial matter. I forwarded the original message by brother Watchman Nee to him and encouraged him to seriously read and pray over the message, and text him further.

...., I sent a mail that has been a great help to many saints. Please find time to seriously read and pray over your situation that you are going through. 

All the environmental dealings of the Lord are aimed at beating us, shaping us, to become the minister of God's word. We must learn the lesson that God has ordained for us. Not willing to submit to the Lord's discipline will be a great loss. We should not let any "sufferings" go in vain. Rather, we must learn what needs to be learned and become a minister of the word. 

Much grace to you my brother.

Coincidentally, another brother posted a message on the same line:

We should learn to redeem the time to study the New Testament. When Brother Nee was a college student, he decided to read the New Testament fifty-two times in one year, that is, once a week continually for a year. He studied diligently and was one of the top students in his class. Nevertheless, he also endeavored to redeem his time in order to read the New Testament. Similarly, I can testify that although as an elderly man I need to rest for my physical health, I endeavor to redeem every moment so that I may fulfill my responsibility in the ministry of the word. (Witness Lee, Collected Works, 1984, Vol. 1, Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, California, U.S.A. 2016, p. 65)  www.ministrybooks.org

My innate response was:

Yes brother. 

May we love the Lord and love His word; study the truth, pursue the truth and be constituted with the truth as revealed in the Bible through the help of the ministry. And may the truth becomes us that we be the ministers of the ministry of the word!

And later in my study of the Bible, a verse from 2 Timothy 4:5 further strengthened the burden.

But you, be sober in all things, suffer evil, do the work of an evangelist, fully accomplish your ministry.  

Footnote on "ministry" from the Recovery Version, the Holy BibleThe ministry of the word, which is to minister Christ in all His riches (Eph. 3:8) to both sinners and believers for the building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-12). Such a ministry is desperately needed to counter the trend of decline, as prophesied in vv. 3-4.

Praise the Lord for His continuous speaking through different means on the matter of becoming a minister of the ministry of the word! This is the Lord's calling and His heart's desire. 

Lord, grace me to be a normal and proper minister of the ministry of the Word!

SOS Calls

After all the day's work I was on my prayer walk, to pray and fellowship with the Lord, when I received a missed call from an unknown number. I sensed that it could be an important call as the timing was not that of a general call. I called  back, and a sister panicked and requested me to visit them as they were in a hospital in South Delhi because her husband temporarily fainted with breathlessness. Her husband before being administered oxygen asked her to call "brother Palmei" immediately. Later, when he recovered from the temporary breathlessness he spoke to me over the phone narrating his critical situation. I took that as the Lord's sovereignty and told the brother that it was the Lord's wake up call to him to be revived in his Christian life and be recovered back to the normal church life. For this brother had come to Delhi for some mechanical training and had not been in fellowship with any saint nor with the church in New Delhi. Even while back home in Manipur, he was not regular either, though nominally was still in the church life. After a brotherly nourishing word, I cherished and comforted him not to be anxious but turn to the Lord in prayer instead. I prayed with him over the phone and promised to visit him the next day.

As I visited his family the following day, I released the burden of shepherding them to live a normal Christian life in the normal church-life. I encouraged them to enjoy the Lord every day in prayer, in reading the word of God, in family prayer together as husband and wife, and in fellowshipping with the saints in the church. They both agreed readily and amened my brotherly fellowship. As an exercise, we pray-read a verse, John 6:63, together and prayed together. After such fellowship I realised it was all the Lord's arrangement for them to be recovered back to the church life.  They both also confessed that the Lord had caused such circumstances because He loves them and wants to recover them. The ambiance of the group meeting was full of peace and satisfaction. It was truly indeed a wake up call to both of them, and they both realised it fully. Of course, I also advised them to do a proper medical check up too and offered my help to introduce them to a good doctor. 

Another emergency call came as I still was spending time for prayer. A brother called to apologize first, as he had taken a long leave officially due to his family problem, and also requested for further help in accommodation for him and his mother when they would get back to Gurgaon after their hometown visit to handle family matters. As a brother caring for another brother in the love of Christ, I encouraged him not to worry about my feeling even officially or otherwise. I told him that I understood his situation and would render all necessary help. Then I offered to pray together over the phone. As I prayed for him and his family that Christ would be magnified through him, and that Christ would gain the whole family,  and that the peace and rest of Christ may rest upon them, He amened all the phrases and sentences of my prayer. But after I finished my prayer, when he was about to pray, he just could not. Rather he broke down in tears and could not even complete a sentence of prayer. I waited and waited for him to release all his burdens, though without words, but will weeping and groaning. I sensed the deep agony and pain he has been through in his life. My only response was, comforting him with the fact that that the saints in the church in Gurgaon are praying for him and standing one with him. He was so gladful for the grace of Christ in the Body. The following day in my time with the Lord in the word, I felt led to encourage him with the verse I just enjoyed, and texted him this verse. 

And indeed all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 2 Timothy 3:12

Both the distress calls, though serious in nature, were all the Lord's sovereignty for the gaining of Christ all the more. What was meant to be an SOS, save our soul, turned out to be SWOS, the Spirit with our spirit, for the exercise and enjoyment of Christ as grace. 

The Lord is exercising His multifarious wisdom to gain His beloved. And so He does things in the way He deems best. And to this, what can we say but Amen! 

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.