Gates of Hades

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Mathew 16:18

Note on "Gates of Hades" from the Holy Bible, Recovery Version

Gates of Hades refers to Satan's authority or power of darkness (Col. 1:13; Acts 26:18), which cannot prevail against the genuine church built by Christ upon this revelation concerning Him as the rock, with stones such as Peter, a transformed human being. This word of the Lord's indicates also that Satan's power of darkness will attack the church. Hence, there is spiritual warfare between Satan's power, which is his kingdom, and the church, which is God's kingdom.

These days in the church in our locality, the Lord has been training and perfecting us to build up the church by shepherding the saints. As the building work is progressing, the enemy is not happy at all. He seems to intensify his work of attacking the vulnerable saints. His ugly horns have been raised up and we are not ignorant of his schemes.

This reminds me of a hymn by brother Martin Luther, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God".

Stanza:

And though this world, with devils filled,

Should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God hath willed

His truth to triumph through us:

The Prince of Darkness grim,

We tremble not for him;

His rage we can endure,

For lo! his doom is sure,

One little word shall fell him.

Last week I could suddenly see a visible attack of the enemy on the saints. A brother was brought down to his bed helpless for a couple of days. Another brother suddenly suffered from severe stomach ache almost making him functionless for a gospel meeting in which he was supposed to give the gospel message. The Lord healed him and he still could give the gospel message. A couple was suddenly attacked with a minor misunderstanding trying to stop them from coming to the gospel meeting. The saints visitation later recovered both of them. A family that came into the church life recently suddenly had a marital issue unheard of among believers to the extent of an outburst of anger and ungodly exchange of words. 

When all these things were going on right under my nose, I simply looked up to the Lord with my brothers and exercised the authority God gave the church to bind the enemy. We fellowshipped and prayed over all these matters. This confirms the word of the Lord Jesus concerning how the gates of Hades could not prevail against the builded church. 

I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in the heavens. Matthew 16:19

These are all the necessary experiences that the church needs to go through. The church is real, so is the gates of Hades. The attacks are real, so are the words of the Lord and the saints engaging the enemy in spiritual warfare. Though the church goes through such an attack, I take it very positively and victoriously. The Lord in His sovereignty is allowing things so that He can also deal with the saints and perfect them. 

As I and a brother seriously fellowshipped and considered the matters before the Lord, we realized that the Lord is working in the situation to perfect all of us so that we can be proper vessels to contain the Lord and bear His testimony in this city. The Lord will turn all the schemes of the enemy to display His multifarious wisdom. Praise the Lord!

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Mathew 16:18

Lord build Your church in Gurugram!

A Visit from Shillong

Last week a brother from Shillong called me, informing of his coming to Delhi for fellowship and also for his health check-up. My innate reply was, Welcome!

I have not been in touch with this brother for quite a while now. Since he has become an important personality in Meghalaya politics, I did not bother to call him as I know he would be busy with his official responsibilities. Nevertheless, I have been praying for him and a couple of other brothers, and especially for the church in Shillong, that the saints would be fully brought into the oneness, fellowship, blending and building life with the other local churches in the North East and also with the churches all over India and the world. Personally, my heart has always been there for the church in Shillong.

In prayer and fellowship, an arrangement was made for him to stay with another brother. My burden was that there should be more fellowship and blending with more saints. Though I took him around during the day, his night stay was in a brother's house. The next day, as I went to pick him up, I was surprised with a piece of good news by our brother's experience of the Lord's speaking to him concerning 'life", the divine life of God, the mingling of divinity with humanity, and the accomplished works of Christ at the cross. Therefore, he need not worry or be anxious about anything. But simply be in the jubilee, and be joyful!

As we spend time together on Metro to Delhi for his health check-up, I could release my burden and fellowship with him as a brother; freely and frankly. The fellowship points were those that have been in my heart for years concerning the church in Shillong, and how the saints can grow in the divine life and for the Lord's blessing of the church in Shillong. Though his plan was to go back on Lord's day morning, I felt good for him to stay for a few more days. Therefore, brother stayed back for the Lord's day. The exultation, praising, and rejoicing on the Lord's day meeting was marvelous. This was the first Lord's table meeting he ever attended in the church in Gurugram. We enjoyed a wonderful time of praising the Lord, worshipping the Father God, and ministering the word. In the evening I took him for a home meeting where the Lord's speaking was on the importance of the believers' flocking together as the church. The Lord's speaking was very timely. And the following day I took him for shopping and finally dropped him off to the airport.

The Lord used even his physical health as a channel for us to be able to meet and blend together. Though he came primarily for his health check-up, the Lord used the situation for fellowship and blending in the Body. He himself testified that the Lord's hand was behind all his circumstances. He was so thankful to the Lord for His sovereignty in working all things together for good.

Lord, bless my beloved brother, and bless the church in Shillong!

Lover of Man

As God loves us, we must love God and also love what God loves, man. The most famous and common verse is of God's love for man. 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life. John 3:16

As being loved by God and gifted an eternal life, we must love whom God loves too. The same blessing is also available to all mankind. God's redemption accomplished by Christ at the cross is for all. But the entire humanity in the world is yet to hear and understand the love of God. Here is the need for preaching the gospel and letting people know God.

Our Savior God desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:4

God's desire to save all mankind can happen only when all mankind hears the gospel and believes into the Lord Jesus Christ. For this, the hearing of the word is needed as a direct result of the preaching of the gospel.

So faith comes out of hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17

Now, all the above Bible verses can become practical only when those who already are enjoying the love of God begins to love man and share the same love story to others who are yet to hear the greatest love story ever told, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Lovers of man as God loves them are the need of this end time. Only by this love, one can genuinely reach out to the unreached and share the love of God to them. In fact, gospel preaching is the highest service and the Lord's command:

Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age. Mathew 28:19 

As the Lord saves people and brings them into the church, they must be shepherded by supply the divine life of God to them regularly as a mother feeds her own children. Supplying with the divine life and shepherding them is the next greatest command the Lord gave.

Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs. He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep. John 21:15-17

As shepherding work is being carried out, there will be a hundred and one problems that we will encounter. Better to encounter the problems faced by our sheep rather than being busy with our own problems. Any genuine shepherd will encounter this and will shepherd the new ones to go through the situation and come out victorious. While we encounter such problems, we should look to the Lord for wisdom how to tread the path wisely and also look for more grace to be able to shepherd the saints. Some immature and graceless person may ignorantly or arrogantly cut off the saint plagued with problems. If that be the case, ultimately all news ones will be cut off. If need be, if the problems faced by the saints are serious, it is even better to weep for the saints. Instead of weeping for our personal and family matters, weeping for the needy saints and for the advancement of the Lord's work is far more worthy. Our tears should not be wasted on self-pity and for selfish goals. Our tears must be reserved for the Lord's purpose. As much as our time, our energy, and all that we possess are for the Lord, so much more, our tears must be for the Lord. If such is the way we shepherd the saints then there will be many blessings and much increase in the church we serve.

For all these, we must be lovers of man by being lovers of God first.

Lord, cause me to be lover of man.

New Beginning

Our church life and our service life here in Gurugram have been upgraded to a new level. The Lord's leading and blessings are undeniable proofs of the Lord's leading us onward. I am personally thankful to the Lord for His sovereign way of leading us onward. To me what He has done recently is more of a new beginning again. Though we have been in this city for over a decade now, the changes or rather an improvement recently, both physically and spiritually, are significant.

The first thing was the new ones getting baptized. Our plan and goal for baptism at the beginning of the year was 12, targeting one baptism per month. But the Lord marvelously gave us 28 baptisms, 233%! And two new families came into the church life solidly with few individual saints. All these new families are being taken care of in their homes in a weekly meeting. Practicing the God-ordained way works, slowly and gradually as life takes time to grow.

On the service side, the Lord has been leading us. Personally, He has led me to cover all the states of India for the introduction and distribution of the ministry of the word. This year, the remaining states out of the 29 states of Inda which I never visited in the past were all visited. There has been a lot of upgrades in our service both in the translation and distribution service. The most significant one is the translation of the New Testament Recovery Version of the Bible into six Indian languages. The Lord has led us to complete till 1 Corinthians as of now. So far, everything is as per schedule.

Besides, our church meeting hall and office rooms were all repainted and flooring works done, giving a new look and the feeling of a new beginning. Things are improving as time passes on. These are the manifested blessings that we can count on as we count our blessing the Lord has been blessing us with; to praise and give thanks to the Lord once again for everything.

With every new day, new week, new month, and new years, there must also be a corresponding new beginning. 

Lord, continue to lead us on...

A Family In Bengaluru

The Lord has His lovers and seekers everywhere. This one in Bengaluru is unique in a way that he diligently paid the price and pursued the ministry of the word. The first time I met him was a few years ago when he had come to Delhi for his son's MBA program when I delivered to him a copy of the Bible, the Recovery Version. Since then he has been purchasing the Bible, especially, the New Testament, Recovery Version, for his relatives and friends. He has also been purchasing the Life-Study of the Bible book by book for their pursuit of the truth.

The testimony of this brother and his wife is amazing. They both studied the Bible, Recovery Version, with footnotes regularly. Then they also pursued the Life-Study of the Bible-Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and few others, and have enjoyed the ministry of the word so much. They testified of how much life supply they received from the ministry and how their understanding of the word of God and their minds have been renewed. They were eagerly waiting for fellowship with the saints who are enjoying the ministry. I was especially glad that they wanted to be introduced to the church in Bengaluru, and were also open for a group meeting in their home at least once a week.

I have fulfilled my burden of meeting them this time and hope that they would be shepherded into the church life. I now leave the matter to the Lord and to the church. I am very hopeful that they would be shepherded into the church life.

This is one of the encouraging testimonies in my literature service. When lovers of the Lord and seekers of the truth are supplied with the healthy word, I feel the Lord has blessed my service and I am also fulfilling the purpose for which the Lord has called me to serve.

The ministry of the word is for all, and my burden and service is to make sure that all the lovers of the Lord and seekers of the truth are supplied with the ministry of the word.

Lord, continue to bless my service in the literature service. 

Fifteen Years After

Fifteen years after, I got to meet an ex-classmate of mine in Bengaluru after one of our trainings held in the city. Fifteen years ago, he was a silent classmate I hardly interacted with. But our relationship as a classmate in our Master's degree is still intact. Now that we all are married and are fathering children, our perspectives in life have changed. Having met him have taught me one important lesson: Obeying the Lord to serve Him is the best decision I have ever made. Meeting my friends at college confirmed my decision all the more.

All the ex-classmates I have met so far are all doing well in life. They have all got married and are settled with a good job. Most of them even purchased a house or a land or a piece of property of their own. But they seem to have missed the perfect peace and joy of the presence of the Lord. In spite of a good job, high pay, and all the materialistic things in their possession, they seem to lack what I have been blessed with by the Lord - an inner peace and joy and satisfaction. 

When I met this particular friend, he took no time to reveal all the pressure he has been through at workplace and even at home with his health issue. Immediately, I could sense his need for inner peace and joy which only the Lord Jesus can give. I encouraged him to keep in touch and in fellowship with the brothers in the local church whom I also introduced to him. It was a very timely visit and I could pray for him and his family. By the way, I also took along two brothers from the church to meet him. Perhaps, the Lord would open the door for my friend to participate in the church life. By the way, a group meeting is being held weekly just nearby his house. May the Lord in His time and in His way lead my friend to the full knowledge and enjoyment of the truth. 

The Lord is so good and gracious to me, and He has been faithfully supplying all my needs in abundance; be it spiritual or psychological or even spiritual, the Lord has been so gracious to me. The joy of the Lord is my testimony to my classmates. Before I left, I had the burden to pray for my friend and his family and prayed for them.

I wish and pray that all my classmates, besides being professionally successful, they all also would also love the Lord and be one with Him in bearing His testimony. Hope one day, all the unsaved would be saved, and all the saved would also come to the full knowledge of the truth, bearing the testimony of the Lord Jesus together in the local church. 

Looking forward to the day I would be able to meet the ones I have not met yet even after fifteen years. 

God bless all my ex-classmates.

Perfecting

1 Kings 6:7

And the house, when it was being built, was built of finished stone, cut at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor ax nor any iron tool was heard in the house when it was being built.

Finished Stones 

The stones used for the building of the temple were all "finished stones". The finished stones have all been mined from where they were, perhaps, in a mountain or a valley or a plain or on the bank of a river. They were brought to the quarry where all works of breaking, cutting into a perfect shape for the building took place. There, in the mines and in the quarry, hammer, axe, and iron tools were used to work on the stones to bring it to perfection. Then and only then, they were brought to the site of the temple and were perfectly framed and fitted together, thereby becoming part of the temple. This is a perfect picture of perfecting for the building up of the Body of Christ, the church.

Quarry

According to the Bible, we were made of clay, however, through regeneration and transformation, we become stones for God's building. The significant part is the quarry where the mined stones were processed to perfection.

The Lord has picked us from various backgrounds. Now, wherever He has placed us, He is also perfecting us. Perhaps, at home with wive and children, at the office with colleagues and staffs, in the local church with the saints and new ones. All the happenings in our circumstances are all for the perfecting of us to be the finished stones so that we can be fitly framed into the building of God. 

No Sound

In the site of the building, no noise nor sound was heard. The finished stones were perfectly fitted in their rightful position and there is no adjustment done here. All complaining and murmuring were dealt with at the "quarry" of our Christian life. Only after all the dealings, the finished stones were brought for the actual building of the temple. Therefore, in the proper building of the church, there is no room for "noises and sounds" as the finished stones perfectly fit into one another at their appointed position and function.

What a revelation of the building work is this!

The point at hand now is, as a piece of stone, where are you? At the mine, or at the quarry, or have you been perfected to fit into the building of God’s house at the site of the temple? Consider and know where you are. Perhaps, still in the quarry, as this is the most likely place where we all are right now. All the sound of cutting by hammer, ax, and iron tools proves we are still at the quarry and yet to be perfectly finished.

I confess and acknowledge that I am still in the quarry. The sound of cutting is still clanking within me even if I have started learning to calm down outwardly. The Master Builder is faithfully working on me day and night, cutting and shaping me as He deems best. And I fully open and submit to the Master's faithful hands operating on me, as a Surgeon operates on the patient. Only the Master knows how longer He has to work on me. For His perfecting work, I fully give myself to His wise hands.

Lord, perfect me for Thy building.