New Homes for the Church Life

The sister who came on the 1st of January for a get-together meeting and who also opened her home for fellowship, Bible study, and prayer has been enjoying the fellowship in her house. Since the very first week of this month, the meeting at her home goes on weekly. The home visit was sweet and the fellowship on the word of God grows stronger. Each time we meet, we pursued together a shepherding material and the Lord used each week's portion to meet the timely need of the family. More than being coincidental, it was the Lord's sovereignty. This family was the family introduce to me almost a year ago by another seeking sister. Our fellowship began simply by a home visit and ministering the word of God. The hunger and thirst they had for the word brought us all together. Though the family has not yet joined the church meeting on Lord's day, they have been already foretasting the church life. The Lord will shepherd them into His flock one day.

Another family who has been in contact for many years with many ups and downs in their family life and in their relationship with some brothers and sisters has also opend up their home for a regular Life-study pursuing meeting. This year, a new schedule has been added in the church schedule. Last week we had our first meeting, pursuing the Life-study of the gospel of John. Our burden is for the saints to have a corporate pursuing of the ministry as the church and also for the family to be shepherded into the normal church life. We believe in the work of the Holy Spirit and in the power of the word of God. What we cannot, the Lord will accomplish through the gradual shepherding and ministering of the word of God. This family too has not yet joined the church meeting on the Lord's day. The Lord will shepherd them into His flock one day.

Though our burden is that the Lord would gain many families for the church life, He is shepherding us to shepherd the new ones, family by family, week by week, month by month, year by year, and gain solid materials for the building up of the church. All these years, I have been learning the lesson of shepherding. If people have to be gained solidly for the church life, solid foundation on the word of God must be laid first. For anything precious, there is always a price to pay. For anything of life, there is a need for growth and time involved. Crowds may throng, and crowds may leave, but the ones established in the faith and in the truth can never. Multitude crowded the Lord Jesus when He fed them and did works of wonders and miracles, but only eleven followed Him till the end. Though we need numbers, numbers don't come by waving a magic wand; it needs prayer, labor, and genuine shepherding care. I believe that this is the best part of a learning process in serving the Lord and His church. I pray that I learn this lesson thoroughly well.

Through these new homes opened up for home meeting, the Lord's shepherding will perfect all of us for the normal church life in Gurugram.

Ministry of the Word to Gurugram

The Lord has strategically placed us in the city of Gurugram. All these years we have been focusing on other parts of India and used Gurguram as a base. But beginning this year the Lord burdened us to concentrate on NCR(National Capital Region) for the spread of the ministry of the word. Since the burden was received from the Lord, the main thing in following up and carrying out the burden is to pray and pray and pray. I didn't know where and how to begin but kept praying, and also collecting contacts.

The first appointment the Lord released in this city was with a brother from a local Jat background. Our first fellowship was at a Cafe Coffee Day where we introduced the ministry books. The Lord's presence was so sweet as we fellowshipped and introduced the ministry to this brother. He was so impressed with the ministry and immediately shared few other Christian leaders' contact. Though this brother has started a ministry out of a burden, the Lord has been preserving him purely for His testimony. His appreciation of the truth was very encouraging. He also has a testimony of leaving the corporate world to serving the Lord in a full-time way. Though not a full fledge theologian like many other pastors, he's been training and equipping himself for the vision the Lord has shown him. Our first meeting happened two weeks ago, and then we met again yesterday.

This time the Lord has revealed through our fellowship that there are indeed many genuine seekers and lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ and His word. We were further introduced to a couple of dynamic Christian workers, and more light dawned on us on how to carry out the burden we received from the Lord. We believe that as we go on in this way, the Lord will fully open the door all over NCR and the surrounding cities for His glorious testimony.

Today, the Lord also brought another young Christian worker whose parent I met in Jabalpur. Though we met the first time, our fellowship was so sweet and he opened up his burden and need, especially to be equipped with the truth. For about three hours we were fellowshipping, sharing testimonies, and ministering the word. He was also so impressed with the ministry of the word that he wanted to pursue and study the books and teach to his Bible students as well. He also recommended a Hindi translator and two other Christian leaders in Delhi and Jaipur respectively.

This is just the beginning of what the Lord is going to do in Gurugram, NCR, and North India. I could sense the breakthrough in North India with the ministry of the word for the testimony of Jesus. 

Lord, gain Gurugram and entire North India!

Fourfold Fellowship

Beginning this year, the Lord has burdened me to bring more saints into fellowship and function in the church life here in Gurugram. My personal burden and zeal for the Lord as an individual will lead the church nowhere. Though I can still function as the Lord has been burdening me for gospel preaching, home meetings, group meeting, shepherding etc..I must breakthrough in helping the saints to also pick up the same burden of practicing the God-ordained way, together in the Body of Christ as the church. Therefore, the Lord led me in encouraging the saints to actively participate in the church life besides the regular meetings on the Lord's day. 

Every Saturday, the church has a schedule for prayer meeting and gospel preaching. Until this year we have not been able to breakthrough in bringing the saints to active participation. But from this year, I encouraged, at least, the family of two responsible brothers to actively participate. For this, I made further arrangement for the family to be able to participate in a very practical way. My proposal was simple and enjoyable. I invited the two families to stay back for dinner every Saturday after the gospel preaching so that they need not worry about the meal after the whole afternoon schedule for the church life. As they stayed back for the lovefeast, I also proposed a group meeting where we pursued shepherding materials, fellowship, and then prayed together. By this way, we could enjoy four-fold fellowship: prayer meeting, gospel preaching, small group meeting and blending lovefeast.

Now practicing the God-ordained way is so sweet and enjoyable. Even the children are looking forward to it every weekend as they also enjoyed a time of playing and get together as their parents are also together. My wife and I are very happy to host the saints weekly for such a lovely fellowship. The Lord has blessed us with a big house where such meeting can be hosted, and He also has been blessing us with all that we need, even to share with the saints our kitchen and all the food items therein. Opening our hearts, opening our home, opening our kitchen for the church life has become a reality. In fact, I was a skeptic when I heard such declaration in the past by some brothers in the church meeting; now I am being graced to experience it in reality.

To me, this is just the beginning. Such fourfold fellowship should continue as long as the Lord grace us. Not only my family but also all the saints' families should be able to carry out this enjoyable church life. Though we may be few now, if all these few saints exercised the practical church life, there will be much enjoyment of the Christ in the church, which will issue in our blending and building up, which will further issue in everyone functioning, and then ultimately to the increase in the number of saints. First the increase in quality of the enjoyment of the church life, then the increase in the quantity of the saints in the church life.

It is the Lord mercy that I can adapt and practice this fourfold fellowship. The Lord just led us to do this, and may He grace us to go in this way as long as He pleases, all for the building up of the church, the Body of Christ.

Special Attendant

It was in a Christian leaders-and-pastors gathering at Ghaziabad on 15th January 2018 that as serving ones in the literature service, we introduced the ministry books with the burden that all Christians need to have a taste of the ministry as the ministry of the word is for all. Once we introduced the ministry books to the Christian leaders and exhibited them, a young brother who had undergone education in four master degrees came up to have a fellowship on the books and his feeling in general.

Among all the pastors and leaders gathered there, he probably must be the only one who was not, in reality, a pastor or leader, as the rest of them. But he seemed to be the most seeking among all. He expressed his joy at our announcing of the ministry literature and yet was dismayed by the response of the many so-called "leaders and pastors" who do not seem to appreciate the word of God. His case in point was that he had read Watchman Nee and was very blessed by it, and the pastors he saw were not very keen on Christian literature as he assumed that they should love the books much more than him. This is the hard fact: Not everyone loves the word of God, much less the writings of brother Watchman Nee or Witness Lee. Mostly according to my own personal experience, there are a just a handful of those who understood and tasted the depth and orthodoxy of the ministry of the word. By the Lord's mercy, I happened to be just one of them who have been blessed very much by the ministry of the word through the two brothers.

This brother visited us on the following weekend and we had a wonderful time of fellowship together. it so happened that our Bible reading portion that day was on Exodus 4 and 5 on the how God called Moses and the subjective signs of the experiences of the called ones. It was indeed a good time of fellowship and review on our service as God's called ones. I was freshly reminded of the God who called me and who would carry out the calling for which He called me for. 

And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a thornbush. And when he looked, there was the thornbush, burning with fire; but the thornbush was not consumed.
And Moses said, I must turn aside now and see this great sight, why the thornbush does not burn up. Exodus 3:2-3 

Our fellowship on the subjective signs of being called and sent by God in Exodus 4 was amazing. A brother and I spoke extensively in one accord and in one mouth, the significances of those signs, and how those need to be experienced. We are happy to acknowledge the source from which we have learned all these. Our speaking was an elaboration of the footnote in the Recovery Version of the Holy Bible.

In chapter 3 God gave Moses the sign of the thornbush (3:2-3). In this chapter God gave Moses three additional signs as evidence that he had truly been called and sent by God. The meaning of the first sign, the sign of the staff becoming a serpent (vv. 2-4), is that anything we rely on apart from God—our education, our occupation, etc.—is actually the hiding place of Satan, the usurping serpent. However, when at God’s word we throw it down and then take it up again “by the tail,” i.e., in the way opposite to the practice of the worldly people, using it for God’s purpose and not for ourselves, it becomes a staff of authority (vv. 4, 17; Luke 10:19). In the second sign, the sign of the hand becoming leprous (vv. 6-7), the bosom signifies what is within us, and leprosy signifies sin. This sign shows that our flesh is the embodiment of leprosy; in it there is nothing good, nothing but sin, corruption, and uncleanness (Rom. 7:17-18; cf. Isa. 6:5). Nevertheless, when we obey the Lord by keeping His word, His cleansing power is able to make us clean. The meaning of the third sign, the sign of the water becoming blood (v. 9), is that in the eyes of God all the earthly supply and worldly enjoyment (the water of the Nile) are nothing but death (blood). When they are poured out on that which produces life (the ground), immediately the death is exposed.

It also turned out that this young brother was also burdened to bring the ministry of the word to his native people in Odisha by offering himself to translate the ministry books to Oriya. Time will tell if this brother is today's Moses to bring the word of God to his people and deliver them from the bondage of religion. We prayed together before we dropped off our brother with a new assignment for translation only if he could pass the trial round. May the Lord gain him for His interest on earth among the Oriya speaking believers. 

To me, this meeting with this brother amidst the crowd of leaders and pastors was significant; he indeed was a special attendant.

Special Customer

A few days ago I received a desperate call from a customer who wanted to buy our spiritual books online but could not do so. In his desperate attempt, he ordered the books online but the purchase was not through. Perhaps, on further browsing our site, he must have gotten my number with which he contacted me over the phone. Once he explained his case over the phone that his transaction was through, I immediately realized he was indeed very desperately in need of books. Technically, I should have cross-checked all his claim of payment, but I simply took him at his word and decided to send him the books and requested him for the title of the books. Later, he texted me the list of books which I forwarded to the serving ones to send him immediately. For my burden is very clear: To give food at the proper time based on Mathew 24:45 Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his household to give them food at the proper time? My priority is not business at all, though we are a business entity set up for the distribution of the ministry of the word, my priority always is to supply spiritual food to saints and seekers and sinners too.

He was so touched by the way I handled the matter; he texted me back with words of thanks. He further went on asking me for more books. As he did so, I sensed that he is a genuine and desperate seeker of the truths. For such people is my service dedicated to. So I texted him to contact me anytime or even call me, basically giving him the freedom to freely contact me. Immediately after he saw my text message he called me.

We had about 18 minutes fellowship over the phone. He opened up his discouragement with the degraded Christianity; how he had been "church" hoping only to be left empty and thirsty. Somehow, he came across brother Watchman Nee's books and was so helped by it. Therefore, he could find us online at our site, and we got connected.

I fellowshipped with him the importance of seeing the Body of Christ as Saul of Tarsus saw in Acts 9; the Lord Christ, and the corporate Me (Christ), the church, the Body of Christ, with an overview of the epistles of Paul. I emphasized the Body of Christ again and again, as this truth has been so much ignored and neglected by many preachers today. I testified of how the Lord led me to see and know the Body through the book, The Normal Christian Church Life, by Watchman Nee and his co-worker, Witness Lee. I briefed him also the need to meet as the church according to the Bible, and how I myself was led in the scriptural way of meeting. Then, with an exhortation to love the Lord and pursue Him in the word, I prayed and promised to introduce him to the brothers and the church in Bangalore, where he is at the moment. Later, I introduced him to a brother in the church in Bangalore. 

May the Lord shepherd him into His flock.

This kind of customer is very rare. For sure this is a special customer for whom the Lord has placed me to serve in the literature service, in the ministry of the word.

First Baptism

A sister called me up and promised that she would bring a new one on thirty-first of last December, but she could not make it. She promised to come the previous two Lord's days, and still, she could not make it. And finally, she brought a new one last Wednesday. Though I was busy when they arrived, once I was ready I took no time to minister to him the word of God.

He seemed to have been prepared by the Lord in the past many years of his life. He heard and knew about Jesus Christ but something kept him away from being baptized. Though a young college student and a professional break dancer competing on an international championship with his own dancing institute, his heart was very open to the Lord Jesus Christ. I preached the gospel in detail concerning God and His creation of the universe and man, especially man with three parts-body, soul, and spirit. I elaborated on the sinfulness of man and his helplessness, the incarnation of God as a man in Jesus, the accomplishment of redemption, and the salvation man can receive by simply believing into Jesus Christ. After a short while of gospel preaching, he was all smile and very receptive. The next step, was to lead him to pray the sinner's prayer for salvation, which he did whole heartedly. Then, the Lord led me further to explain to him the need for baptsim with two very important spiritual significances; a confirmation of the inward believe and an identification with the death and resurrection of Christ. After ministering the truth using the Bible, he willing wanted to be baptised.

Mark 16:1616 He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned.

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16¹ To believe (see note 15³ in ch. 1) is to receive the Slave-Savior (John 1:12) not only for forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43) but also for regeneration (1 Pet. 1:21, 23). Those who thus believe become the children of God (John 1:12-13) and the members of Christ (Eph. 5:30) in an organic union with the Triune God (Matt. 28:19). To be baptized is to affirm this by being buried to terminate the old creation through the death of the Slave-Savior and by being raised up to be the new creation of God through the Slave-Savior's resurrection. Such a baptism is much more advanced than the baptism of repentance preached by John (1:4; Acts 19:3-5). To believe and to be so baptized are two parts of one complete step for receiving the full salvation of God. To be baptized without believing is merely an empty ritual; to believe without being baptized is to be saved only inwardly without an outward affirmation of the inward salvation. These two should go together. Moreover, water baptism should be accompanied by Spirit baptism, even as the children of Israel were baptized in the sea (water) and in the cloud (the Spirit) — 1 Cor. 10:2; 12:13.

To strengthen the truth presentation, we fellowshipped in detail on baptism presented in the book of Romans.

 6:3   Or are you ignorant that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

 6:4   We have been buried therefore with Him through baptism into His death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life.

 6:5   For if we have grown together with Him in the likeness of His death, indeed we will also be in the likeness of His resurrection,

 6:6   Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the 

body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves;

Immediately, I asked the serving brothers to make ready the baptism tub, and meanwhile we read through Matthew 1 with an emphasis on verses 21 and 23, on Jesus-Jehovah the Saviour, God becoming our Saviour, and Emmanuel-God with us.

Matthew 1:2121 And she will bear a ^ason, and you shall call His name ^1bJesus, for it is He who will ^csave His people from their sins.

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21¹ Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Joshua (Num. 13:16), which means Jehovah the Savior, or the salvation of Jehovah. Hence, Jesus is not only a man but Jehovah, and not only Jehovah but Jehovah becoming our salvation. Thus, He is our Savior. He is also our Joshua, the One who brings us into rest (Heb. 4:8; Matt. 11:28-29), which is Himself as the good land to us.
Matthew 1:2323 "Behold, the ^avirgin shall be with child and shall bear a ¹son, and they shall call His name ^2bEmmanuel'' (which is translated, ^cGod ³with us).

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23² Jesus was the name given by God, whereas Emmanuel, meaning God with us, was the name by which man called Him. Jesus the Savior is God with us. He is God, and He is also God incarnated to dwell among us (John 1:14). He is not only God but God with us.

After a wonderful time of preaching the gospel, ministering the truth, a home meeting Bible study, the new one was baptized! Praise the Lord! There must have been a great joy in heaven over one sinner repenting and who also got baptized!

Luke 15:7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner repenting than over ninety-nine righteous persons who have no need of repentance.

This is the Lord's blessing; our first baptism for the year 2018. Later, I encourage all the saints in Gurugram to have more of gospel preaching and shepherding, in season and out of season, weekly, monthly, and on and on, to fulfill the great commission the Lord has given to all His disciples:

Mathew 28:19  Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 

Coming Together

What then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 1 Corinthians 14:26  

Not abandoning our own assembling together, as the custom with some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:25  

Beginning this year again, the Lord has led us further in our practice of the church-life. The Lord's speaking through the ministry of the word in the Holy Word for Morning Revival confirms this burden. I personally was so touched by the two Bible verses above. These are the scriptural ways to meet, to enjoy the practical church life for the building up of the Body of Christ.

In fact, I have been burdened to invite at least one family to our home for lovefest and fellowship on a weekly basis; and the Lord has been faithfully fulfilling it too. In the first week, we have three families coming over for such a lovefeast fellowship. And with one family, we invited them to come every Saturday. The physical meeting and eating together may or may not build us up, but this definitely opens the door for more fellowship and building up. 

First of all, there must be the coming together, as a church, or even as a family, the more the better. Then the Lord will have a way to work in and among us. The coming together as a church, we have been trumpeting, and as a church, we are coming together more frequently now. At least, twice in a week; on Saturdays for the church prayer meeting and gospel preaching, on Lord's days for the bread breaking, prophesying, lovefeast, brothers and sisters fellowship, and young people meeting. Now, on the weekdays, we are also coming together for home meetings and group meetings.  

Last Lord's day, my wife and I were prophesying on this same burden; of coming together in homes, assembling together as the church, and not neglecting nor belittling these matters, as these are the practical ways in which we all can be built up together. We also exhorted all the saints for the practical church life. This year, we are burdened for a definite increase in the saints enjoyment of the Christian life and the church life. 

For this very reason, I went to a family regularly as much as possible though they are still stuck up in the denomination. My burden is that, at least, they can have some spiritual food through my visit. In fact, two families were shepherded in the home meeting and, I declare in faith that one day, the Lord will fully deliver them through the word of God to come fully into the practical church life which He has been preparing us now. Sometimes, the new ones are reluctant, but I have been doing my best to visit them, with the burden of shepherding.

Lord, bless our church-life of coming together and build us up together.