Good Thursdays

A new home meeting was recently started in the home of a new one. The family comprises six members who all are very new to the Lord and young in the faith. They live almost an hour's drive from my home. But the Lord has burdened me and graced me to shepherd them weekly. Along with this burden of shepherding the new family, I also brought in three new brothers to come along with me. In this way, these three new brothers can also be shepherded to shepherd new ones. This is the God-ordained way. I cannot be the only one who shepherds, more and more saints needs to be shepherded to do what I have been doing. Otherwise, I would be a failure in my service. As new homes are being opened for shepherding, I must perfect more and more saints to carry out the shepherding.

Every Thursday day night, as I and other brothers went for the home meeting, we prayed together along the way. To me, the travelling time of about an hour is another time slot for shepherding the brothers who came along with me; we had a time of blending and perfecting, a time of bearing burdens together and praying in one accord. This act of shepherding is like shooting down two birds at one shot. The first shot was on the way to the home meeting, and the second shot in the home meeting itself where all the brothers who came with me also functioned.

This Thursdays' home meeting has grown in intensity, as the truth messages from the Shepherding Materials are being pursued. The family was fully brought into function by their exercising to pray, sing, read, and speak. They have been enjoying their home meetings and are looking forward to it week by week. Witnessing their joy and happiness through the shepherding itself is a great reward. All the time, energy, and money spent on them are truly worth the price paid. And I am being blessed too to be a part of the Lord's move in propagating the resurrected and ascended Christ as the continuation of the book of Acts.

For all these reasons, Thursdays are wonderful and good, as it is a day of shepherding. Therefore, I termed it "Good Thursday." 

Family Time

Every day the Lord has been gracing us to come together for morning revival and prayer in the morning and for a family prayer time in the evening. This is one of the blessings of God as a family. On the lighter side, there is also a need to spend time with the children during their vacation for an outing. So, we finally could make it last Monday.

First, we went to an amusement park with the hope of spending the entire afternoon. But to our dismay, the management had changed their policy; they did not admit guest merely to amusement parks without a food package. They charged heftily for every guest which was not at all conducive for us. We did not go there to eat, in fact, we had our meals and went there only for the children to play. Then we all changed plan and went to Ambience Mall instead, which worked out to be a much better place for the children.

When the children enjoyed and had a good time, I am just happy as well. As a father, my joy is the joy of my children; and as a husband, my joy is the joy of my wife. Being a family man, my heart is inclined towards the Lord who blessed me with a wonderful family. As a parent, my wife and I are just the Lord's guardian to care for the children He kept us in our custody until He would take them further for Himself.

Our God is a God of small things too. Eating ice-cream together as a family was such fun. Family dinner of my children's choice meal that made them happy was the best dinner. The time together as a family at home, and occasionally at other places like Malls and Hotels for dinner is a good way of family blending.

It is definitely the blessing of God that my wife and I are blessed with three wonderful children. Our prayer has always been that the Lord would grace us to be a God-man family of His heart's desire, that we can boldly declare to the whole world as Joshua of the Bible: But as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah. Joshua 24:15b

Praise the Lord for such family time! 

Wonderful Lord's Day

Every Lord's day I enjoyed the Lord's Table Meeting and the other meetings of the church. The Lord's day has become more and more enjoyable to me. It is not an ordinary day nor is it a special day like for some Christians. The Lord has blessed me to enjoy His day in feasting, prophesying, and other meetings with the saints. Last Lord's was really wonderful as we met from 10 AM till 5:30 PM, then home meeting and home visits till 10:30 PM. It was a wonderful day indeed!

A new one, who is the only begotten son of a seeking sister came in the afternoon. When he arrived we were just fellowshipping about the upcoming propagation in Gurugram this month. He joined in and later was interested to come along with for an evening home meeting. In fact, that evening three young brothers came along, with one new one. The home where we had the meeting was more of a gospel meeting just because a new one had attended. We usually pursued a series of messages from the Shepherding Materials, but I felt the need to address the need of the new one. Therefore, we pursued something relevant for him too, a topic on Calling Upon the Name of the Lord. 

As we began the meeting and were pray-reading the following Bible verses, the new one declared the verse in Romans 10:13 as “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord MUST be saved,” when it actually says, “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” I took that as an indication for his salvation through his calling upon the name of the Lord.

But flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:22 
For “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13

He called upon the name of the Lord and we led him in prayer to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. Along with the normal meeting, he also got to receive the Lord. The brother and sister in whose home we were meeting were so joyful that a new one actually got saved in their house right in their midst, they being witnesses to all that transpired. It was a blessed home meeting where a new one got saved! We all were full of joy and that made the day even more wonderful.

After the meeting, we went to drop him at his home and met his mother, who is a seeking sister who loves the Lord. We have been praying for this family, and the Lord is saving them one by one. in fact, the entire family also came for the Special Meeting on the 1st of this month. 

Later, another young brother who was with me needed to be dropped to his grandparent's home. As we went to drop him, we had another impromptu home meeting with his grandparent whom we have been praying for and have not yet believed into the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour. The Lord is sovereign in working all things together for good.

In fact, today too, we had another wonderful Lord's day with young saints who came for the short term training. The Lord's presence was so sweet with all the saints exercising their spirit, and almost every one prophesying. The Lord's day meeting is becoming sweeter and sweeter, and even richer and richer. 

Praise the Lord for the wonderful Lord's day! May all Lord's day be full of the riches of Christ! And may every day be as wonderful as well!

Special Meetings

The beginning of the year 2019 was graced with a special meeting from morning till evening. Despite the late rest the day before and early rising for a new beginning, I was fresh for the new day and the new year. As the new year began, the burdens released by the church are being carried out item by item, day by day. After a time of morning revival and prayer, I, along with a few other brothers attended the training till noon. The first day of the year began with a perfecting pillar training. What a blessing!

The Lord's speaking at the very beginning of this year is on blending as the reality of the Body of Christ. I enjoyed the Lord's fresh speaking and took this as a trendsetter for the whole year: blending and building as the reality of the Body of Christ besides the Jubilee!

As the church, we had the burden to invite all our new ones for a time of perfecting meeting themed on God's economy. This was with the definite burden of shepherding all the new ones into the proper understanding, vision, and reality of God's economy. I was busy the whole afternoon considering which outline to use, which hymns to sing, and how to minister the truth to the new ones. The Lord sovereignly led me to get the apt outlines and hymns on God's economy. 

God’s Economy— the Central Line of the Divine Revelation was selected for the new ones perfecting and the definition of God's economy from the book, The Economy of God, Chapter One, was chosen. As the meeting began, the Lord brought the saints and the new ones, one by one. By the time the message was released, the hall was full and the saints and the new ones ministered with the high peak of the divine revelation: God became man to make man God in life, in nature, in expression, and in function, but not in the Godhead.

After the message was released by a brother and me, we had a grouping session with a view to prepare the new ones for their church life. The new ones could easily pick the healthy practice of pursuing the truth in coordination in small groups. To my surprise, many of the new ones enjoyed the meetings and shared their enjoyment of the Lord's speaking. The high peak truth is for all! It would be erroneous to think that the high peak truth is too high for the new ones. Therefore, the high peak truth must be ministered boldly in life with much release of the Spirit. Then, even the new ones will understand and enjoy the high peak truths. This is another trendsetter for shepherding the new ones with the high peak truth of God's economy.

Initially, we were not sure how to name this kind of meeting. But as we considered and fellowshipped we felt good to name it as "Special Meeting." Obviously, it is special from other kinds of meetings. We would never name it as "New Year Meeting" or the likes. The meeting was indeed special. Even the perfecting pillar training before noon was also another special meeting. Therefore, at the beginning of the year, the church was blessed with "Special Meetings." These special meetings are trendsetters for the year. 

May the Lord continue to bless the church with many many special meetings on God's economy, the Jubilee, and the reality of the Body of Christ!

The Thirty First

In was the thirty-first of December 1997 that the Lord in His mercy convicted me of who I was, a sinner, and saved me by grace through faith. It was the thirty-first of December 2018 that His saving grace has been leading me and completed twenty-two years of my Christian life. It was on the first-first of the year that He lead me faithfully to read through the Holy Bible for thirty-one times. That day, the thirty-first of December has become very significant to me because of the spiritual history behind. In fact, it was my spiritual birthday. The turn of the year was also significant as I generally would go before the Lord in prayer in thanksgiving for faithfully leading me through the past years and experience a renewed consecration in the following new year. The day itself is no better day, but the significance behind the day is significant.

As a church, we all felt good to have a perfecting, consecration, and prayer meeting wherein we released the burden on the following:

The Word of God: To be constituted with the healthy word of God by regular Bible reading, even reading through the Holy Bible once again in this year 2019. The pursuing and enjoyment of the word of God through prayer-reading, the holy word for morning revival, following closely the ministry of the age by entering into the semi-annual feasts and the shepherding materials.

Prayer: The Lord burdened us to strengthen the prayer life of the saints. The burdens were on having a daily personal time with the Lord, daily family prayer, daily prayer with a companion, and also regularly attending the church's prayer meeting.

Gospel Preaching: The Lord must recover the preaching of the gospel regularly as a church and even as an individual. The set target for weekly gospel preaching is at least two hours.

Shepherding: Caring for the new ones at their homes in home-meetings and also attending at least one group-meeting a week.

Offering: An important lesson for every believer on offering was also released with references from the word of God.

The saints came together and we all enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship with perfecting and consecration in nature blended with prayer. What a night to end the year with, and have a new beginning. Praise the Lord!

The Jubilee

As the church, we have been enjoying the Lord's speaking on the Jubilee. In fact, the Lord is also bringing us into an experience of the Jubilee. 25 December being a holiday, we felt good to make use of the day for the gospel meeting with a theme, "The Jubilee!" Therefore, prayer and preparation followed suit.

I personally picked up the burden to design an invitation card and invite all the many contacts the Lord has blessed the church with, throughout the years of shepherding. Most of the new ones have been invited and prayed for.

The greatest blessing in this kind of gospel meeting is the coming together of the saints for prayer, fellowship, and blending. The first benefactors are the saints and the first beneficiaries are also the saints. Such meeting brings in the blessing of God both spiritually and physically too. The Lord honored our prayer and preparation and brought many new ones to fill the entire meeting hall. The meeting went well. The fellowship and blending after the meeting were even more enjoyable. All the saints got the opportunity to function in their own capacity. It was a meeting in the Body, of the Body, and for the Body.

As I talked to the new ones who came for the meeting, I could sense the Lord's work in each one of them. Each of them has been prepared by the Lord for over a period of time through the shepherding and now awaiting harvesting into the church life. May the Lord continue to work on them and fully bring them into the church life to bear His testimony in Gurugram. The best part is, they are all local people of Gurugram who are Hindi speaking, owning their own homes and are being brought in through the practice of the God-ordained way. In faith, I could see them becoming pillars and pillar builders for the Lord testimony in Gurugram.

This gospel meeting is also an indication of what the Lord is doing in the church and also in the city. The prayer and the labor we have been experiencing are beginning to bear forth fruits. It also shows us that the Lord is willing to bless the church and He is preparing us to be able to receive the blessing He has reserved for us. This is also a sure experience of the jubilee: a time of blowing the ram's horn, a shout of joy and exultation, a time of rejoicing and being in ecstasy for all that the Lord is doing in our lives in the church.

Praise the Lord for the Jubilee in the church!

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!