Salvation: Stranger to Brother!

As usual, as the church, we go out to preach the gospel regularly on Saturdays. It was on the 17th of this month that we preached the gospel in a park again. On the average, we could preach the gospel to about 10 to 15 people within a span of one and a half to two hours. We were so glad that the Lord reserved some of His remnants to listen to our gospel preaching and even opened up their hearts to believe into the Lord Jesus Christ. 

We were driving back after the gospel preaching when two sisters told me about their contact whom they met at the park. From the description of the contact, I felt deep within my being that we should try to meet him again. One of the sisters took an appointment to meet him over WhatsApp and we went to his hotel.

Our initial introduction was more of an investigation as our new one is a foreigner who was on his business trip to India. All his queries were clarified, and I began with the importance of man in the sight of God. As I began to explain the mystery of human life he was so interested that he changed his position of sitting opposite me to just beside me, to pay a closer heed. His facial expression all proved that he was very seeking and wanted to know more about the Lord Jesus Christ. Even as I spoke, the other sisters and a brother were praying inwardly. The more I spoke, the more he became excited and interested. Then I also shared from the gospel of Mathew 13, the parable of the Sower with my personal testimony of salvation. After all the gospel preaching and sharing of testimony, he was so open that I requested him if he would like to receive the Lord in prayer. To this, he replied in the affirmative, in fact, with my willingness to the tune of indicating "why not?"

Right there in the hotel lobby, not caring for who were watching at us- other guests, receptionists, and perhaps, the CCTVs, and much more, angels in heaven watching over one sinner receiving the Lord Jesus Christ, I led him to pray. Sentence by sentence, he followed me in prayer in English as I led him to pray the sinners' prayer of repentance, confession, believing and receiving the Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, Lord, and God from thence. After the resounding amen, he was all smile and happiness. I further enquired if he would like to join us for the Lord's day meeting the following day, to which also he replied in the affirmative. Then I promised to pick him up the next day and we left.

As we drove back we simply praised and thanked the Lord with rejoicing. He has been faithful to lead us to His chosen ones. It was a great encouragement to the sisters too. Praise the Lord!

The next day, I picked him up, he joined the meeting in the church in Gurugram, enjoyed fellowshipping with us over lunch, and also participated in the brothers' fellowship. As we just wind up the meeting, the Lord led me again to speak to him specifically on baptism. We read Bible verses on baptism and explained what it is and why it is needed, with all relevant Bible verses. The Lord still kept him open, and he even wanted to take baptism! Later, as the church we gave him baptism. We met him first as a foreigner, a stranger, and now he has become a brother!

He was so happy that he finally found the true and living God in Jesus Christ. By the way, he has been seeking for God by pursuing and studying Buddhism for decade but could not really find God experientially. Here, God has brought him to India, and met the church in Gurugram in the gospel preaching. Praise the Lord!

The whole day and the following day, he was with me; we read Bible together and prayed together. I also gifted him the New Testament, Recovery Version and Life Lessons showing him how to pursue the Lord in the truth. He was with me until he left for his home country, China. Even when he reached home we are in touch. Thanks to the latest technology- distance no bar. He has been asking questions from the Bible he read, especially on Mathew 5. My reply was to lead him to the ministry materials online for his continual feeding. May the Lord make him grow unto maturity and save his entire family!

Seven New Ones

As the church, we have been burdened and are praying for the Lord's blessing even in the increase in the number of saints meeting regularly on the Lord’s day. Though we have many in the home meetings, we are yet to break through in bringing them in to the church life. This barrenness in number is one of the most desperate thing I have been experiencing in the church life. With all that I can, in coordination, I have been fellowshipping this burden for increase with the brothers and with the saints. All the saints have the same burden. 

As the church, we have tried all that we could and are ready to be dealt with by the Lord in every matter of our lives. Laboring and shepherding on the one hand and at the same time looking to the Lord for His blessing. We would not be those who hinders the blessing of God in anyway. If we did, we pray for the Lord's forgiveness and lead us further on. With this new year, we look forward to the Lord's blessing in faith. I personally believe, the Lord has been training and perfecting us before we can command His blessing. And beginning this year, I could see the blessing of the Lord drizzling, and expecting the Lord’s shower of blessing.

Last Lord's day we were blessed with seven new ones, attending the meeting for the first time; either the Table Meeting or Young People Meeting or the Home Meeting. Besides, all the meetings were so rich in the word as the saints prophesied. One sister is from Ethiopia who came to Gurgaon for her father's medication. Other brother has been in touch for a couple of months, and finally he came for the meeting. Two young brothers in whose homes we have been enjoying home meetings started attending the Young People meeting and they enjoyed the meeting. Another sister also came for a visit after we lost contact for many months. And another two young friends came for a home meeting. All these promised to meet again and expressed their desire to join the meeting regularly.

This is very significant to my observation, as the ones we have been praying for and shepherding are being recovered for the church life one by one. I do believe, all the new ones we have been praying for and shepherding in their homes will all be recovered for the church-life.

This is just the beginning of what the Lord is going to bless. Better not count the chicken before it hatch, neither be pessimistic nor optimistic. Keep praying, continue laboring, and faithfully carry out shepherding. In time, the Lord will definitely bless and gain His strong testimony in the church in Gurgaon. These seven new ones are just the foretaste. Manifold showers of blessing is coming soon. 

Family Time

Last Saturday my in-laws, sister's husband and his sister, visited our family for fellowship. We enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship, in fact, this was the first ever fellowship after my sister got married. Though they are my in-laws, I reckon them as my own siblings, and my brother and sister in the Lord.

Our fellowship was more of a testimony sharing as the Lord led me to testify of how the Lord has been leading and gracing me to serve Him and what He has been doing in my life. Along with the testimony, I shared the burden on living a life of faith, trusting the Lord for everything; living a life of prayer, and seeking and doing the will of the Lord in everything; and the need to be in the Body and be for the Body in our lives, family, career, and place of stay, all for the Body. These are the major items of fellowship. There are many other subsidiary points besides the main burden. I also poured out my heart that we all should be for the Lord's testimony wherever we are, whatever we do. Success, job, money, etc., are all needed but should not be the main concern. God willing, I even said that my brother can serve the Lord full time as my sister has been blessed with a good job; one can earn to meet family needs and the other can be fully available for the service of the Lord. This is just my opinion, may only the will of the Lord be done. Even the practical matter as we are in city not of our native hometown, I invited my in-laws to come stay with us, if need be. As much as practicality allows, all saints and family members are welcome to take hospitality in our home. We have also been praying that our family should be a God-man family, serving God; our house a house of prayer, a house of fellowship, a house of the ministry of the word where saints, seekers, and sinners would be blessed. And for this the Lord has placed us here in Gurgaon.  We then prayed together and feasted together.

It has been my burden and prayer that all my relatives in the flesh may all be saved and be in the recovery of the Lord for the Lord's testimony. For this burden, we have been praying every night, and strongly believes it is the Lord's will to answer such prayer. Therefore, we would grasp every opportunity which are in line with this burden.

Praise the Lord! In Christ, no more in-laws, but all our relationship must be in-the-Lord. 

Lord bless our family for Your testimony. 

Brothers Fellowship at Hyderabad

Recovery Visits

During this time of visit to Hyderabad, the Lord burdened me to visit a couple of families for the dual purpose of visiting them after a long time and also for shepherding them into the church life by introducing the church brothers in Hyderabad. 

The first family on my list of burden was a doctor's family. I met them for the first time in 2005 when as trainee I went to the most prestigious medical university in Delhi for the preaching of the gospel. Since then, this family has been in touch, of course, off and on, and they even joined the meetings now and then. Now that they are placed in Hyderabad, and that the church is here, I felt it good to introduce the brothers in the church. 

Our fellowship began with a note on the one new man and a review of the recent conference message, the deepest thought in the books of Romans: God became man to make man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. Then we went on to fellowship the truth concerning the Body of Christ with an emphasis on the oneness and practice of the church life in a local church. Out of burden, I also encouraged the family to open their home for home meeting to which they also felt the need and agreed to it. Now it is up to the local church to consider the follow-up shepherding. By the way, we enjoyed a wonderful grilled and chilly chicken too as our lovefeast. I felt so burdened for this brother's family to be properly shepherded into the church life as I know them as ardent lovers and seekers of the Lord Jesus Christ, besides they being also introduced and tasted the ministry of the word and the church life when in Delhi. 

We also met with a brother who is highly placed in a multi national company who has the heart of the gospel and is burdened to shepherd seeking believers. Though he himself may not regularly join the church meeting, he has been enjoying the ministry of the word and also had once been to the short-term training in Gurgaon. Now, having introduced him again to the brothers in the church, he was willing to coordinate with the saints in spreading the ministry books among the working class of seekers in his company. May the Lord gain our brother and make him a useful vessel unto Him. 

Another surprise meeting was with an Engineer whom I met and knew him way back in 2005 while serving the Lord in the church in Delhi. He enjoyed the church life then, had been to USA twice for engineering job, and was in one of the local churches in USA. Now he is back to India, and testified to us that he also quit his job to serve the Lord full time purely out of burden. To my surprise, he also testified that the Lord led him to serve among the gentiles, mostly the uneducated youth in the outskirt of the city, and also gained a good number of new believers. In fact, he used to fellowship with the church some six years ago and lost touch for some reason. It was a joy that by this visitation a preparatory ground work was done for the recovery of this brother and the group of new believers he is shepherding. 

To this brother, the specific burden I released was on the reality and practicality of the Body of Christ with an emphasis on the need for more fellowship as members in the Body. I also shared some specific points of truth from The Normal Christian Church Life by Watchman Nee and The Genuine Ground of Oneness by Witness Lee, with my experiences of these truths as a personal testimony. The Lord blessed the fellowship and he opened up for more practical fellowship in the coming day. He himself spoke up and requested brothers to visit him, and he expressed his willingness to fellowship and blend with the church. By the way, his mom prepared a tasty local Chicken curry for the lovefeast with a delicious dessert that pleased my palate.  

After all these families visit, I fellowshipped with the brother in the church that the Lord has opened many doors and He is recovering many of His children. In fact, I prophesied to the brothers by faith that God is blessing the church and is going to double the number of the saints in the church this year itself. The brother also testified that all these are indeed God's blessing to the church here, as the church has been brought into more fellowship and blending in the Body. With all these visits, I testified to the brother that my burden was released for this visit. I personally was so thankful to the Lord that I was graced to introduce and shepherd the seekers known to me personally to the church. 

I now pray and believe that all these families would be fully recovered for the testimony of Jesus and the church-life in Hyderabad. O how I long to see them again; they all being in sweet fellowship, oneness, blending, all for the building up of the church in Hyderabad! 

Friends Reunion

Last weekend in Hyderabad I was happily surprised to see a brother, who is also my ex-classmate, attending the same brothers' fellowship. Though we have been friends for over one and half decade it is very rare to see my own friend enjoying the same truth and practice the same church life as I do. Because of this joy, and perhaps, because of friendship too, literally, we were all the time together during the breaks as friends and as brothers. 

The Lord graced us sweet time of quality fellowship especially in a way of shepherding pertaining to his personal and family life. As we fellowshipped, I also felt the Lord's leading and anointing. One striking matter of fellowship was related to spending set and specific time with the Lord in prayer, steadfast in pursuing the ministry of the word, reading the Bible, and meeting with the saints in his locality. I also fellowshipped on how his fellowship with his in-laws can sweetly be restored by taking care of their feeling and concern. And that through this all of them, his in-laws and his own family be recovered for the church-life. After this fellowship, we both felt very peaceful and prayed together. I believe he took the fellowship seriously and the Lord would grace and bless his families too. 

Besides, on the Lord's day another ex-classmate joined us. I was especially glad that the two of them are preserved by the Lord for His testimony. They both loved the Lord, and our relationship as friends and brothers have been very sweet. 

The latter friend who joined us, is from Hyderabad. I felt the inner peace to immediately introduced him to the brothers in the church in Hyderabad. And to my surprise, he was so open that he readily agreed to join the brothers' fellowship of the church on Saturdays. The brothers in Hyderabad were also very glad that a new brother was being introduced. We also visited him in his house for a time of fellowship. We recollected our student days, shared testimonies, and praised the Lord for His sovereignty in leading us all these years. I also shared my recent enjoyment of the word in how the Lord cared for his disciples and the needy saints more than the old laws and rituals, and our need to care for the reality of the enjoyment of Christ rather than observing religious duties imposed by some Christians today. He opened up further more and expressed his willingness to fully blend with the saints in the church was confirmed. May the Lord fully gain and recover him for His testimony. 

Out of the thirty students in my master's degree in Computer Science, the Lord has recovered three of us into the fellowship and oneness of the Body of Christ. This may be a mere 10%, but my prayer and burden is that, all of us could be fully recovered. Perhaps, the Lord will do so one day. Lord, hasten that day!

What a wonderful friends reunion indeed! A reunion not as the world would wonder, but a reunion in Christ for the church! Praise the Lord! 

Balance in Bearing Burdens

Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ completely. Galatians 6:2

There must be a striking balance between bearing one another's burden and bearing our own burden. On the one hand we all have to bear our own burden, yet at the same time we must bear the burden of one another. The two must be balanced. Extremity in any is a grave danger.

First, we must bear our own burden even in a sacrificial way and then fellowship with the saints in the Body to bear and share the same burden. We must not pass on the burden to others loosely and easily. And we must never take the Body for granted nor expect everything to come from others. This must be the lesson learned from our side in bearing our own burden. 

Besides, bearing our own burden we also must learn to give. The first principle in God’s financial management is "to give": Give with a pure motive. The law of giving is directly related to the law of sowing. Sowing is a law: You reap only what you sow. If you sow wheat, you will reap wheat, not barley. 

A simple example of specifically giving is to give 10% for the church and 5% for the work. And every year revise the percentage upward. In this way, we will be balanced in bearing the financial burden of the church and also of our own. 

This is a healthy way of bearing our own burden in a way of giving. 

At the same time, we must also be balanced in the Body and by the Body for the Body. We are in the Body, at the same time we are in a locality. Before we share our burden to others we must be sure before the Lord that we have the Lord’s presence in all that we do. We must abide by the law of giving and the law of sowing. 

Bearing the burden of others, especially, financial, the Bible has something to say:

1 Corinthians 16:1-3Now concerning the collection for the saints, just as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also do. On the first day of the week each one of you should lay aside in store to himself whatever he may have been prospered, that no collections be made when I come. And when I arrive, whomever you approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem; 

Collecting offering for the needy saints requires us not to love the world, nor mammon. 

Luke 16:13No household servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 

To serve the Lord requires us to love Him. By resurrection life and resurrection power we will overcome money and material possession. Giving money and material things in resurrection is a strong indication that we are under God's administration in resurrection and have overcome the possession of material riches. We are not governed by need, but by the leading of the Lord. The best way to be blessed by God in material riches is to give, not to receive, just as the Lord Jesus did. 

Acts 20:35In all things I have shown you by example that toiling in this way we ought to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. 

By this way of giving and bearing Rhema burden of other we will command blessing from God. 

Malachi 3:10Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse that there may be food in My house; and prove Me, if you will, by this, says Jehovah of hosts, whether I will open to you the windows of heaven and pour out blessing for you until there is no room for it. 

If we fully offer to God what belongs to Him that the church may be richly supplied, God will open the windows of heaven for us and pour out a blessing to us, and which there will not be enough room to contain. 

In this way, we bear our own burden, and at the same time we bear the burden of others. We will thus be blessed as a member in the Body and be blessed in the Body of which we are aso members. We must be balance in bearing burdens, of our own and also of others.