Itanagar: Preparing the Vessels

A brother and his wife who both are professors in a reputed engineering institute in Itanagar gave us enjoyable hospitality during our distribution trip to the city. This brother and I had been to the same full-time training together some sixteen years ago. We both came from the same evangelical background from which the Lord graced us to move forward further for His testimony. We both were called to serve full-time and even consecrated our lives to serve the Lord. Yes, we are still serving the Lord full-time now, as He graces us one, we will do so until His return or until we fall asleep. But the way He carved our paths is different. He led me to serve in a full-time way in the publication work and him as a full-time professor in an institute. But we both are serving the Lord through our respective fields.

Besides enjoying fellowshipping with his family, the Lord opened the door to fellowship with their relatives at different times.

Doctors and Professors  

One evening, we visited their sister to get to know her as it was my first time to meet her. I was informed that she was not open to the ministry at all and even she strongly opposed the brother and sister standing for the Lord's testimony. It was a second "knocking" to see if we could at least fellowship. Initially, she really was not interested to fellowship with us. But as I began to converse with her, I discovered that she had been a class-mate during her medical studies of one of my best school friends. Using that connection, I interacted with her and she became more open. She asked a question on the "Tabernacle" in relation to today's "churches." That gave me the ground to minister the word a length.

Using the Bible references to "tabernacle", I began from God's plan in Genesis 1:26, tracing the history of Israel all the way from Egypt to Canaan, with emphasis on the tabernacle, temple, the Lord Jesus Christ, the believers as the church, the dwelling place of God in spirit. This was to clarify the truth concerning Christ and the church, the Body of Christ. I also recommended two books for her to study, The Normal Christian Church Life, and The Orthodoxy of the Church, both by Watchman Nee and gifted a copy of the latter.

On another night, we visited the same house again and met the husband of the sister. Though he professed to be a believer, the fact was, he became a "baptized believer" to get married to the sister who was a Christian. His faith was shaky and he himself doubted his own salvation. Moreover, he was not serious about his faith either as he has been waiting for the time when he will have the inward urge to really devote himself to God. 

I took his stance as an opportunity to share the gospel by using my own testimony of how I encountered the living God at the age of nineteen while at college. I also expounded the truth concerning salvation using John 3, the life of Nicodemus and emphasized on the need to be born of God in the spirit. Later, another brother continued the sharing by showing him the way to experience the living God by calling upon the name of Jesus using the Bible verse from Romans 10: 8-13.

The couple is doctors and now medical professors as well. To me, the two would be gained by the Lord for His testimony as I view them in faith.

Father and Mother

Though we had no intention to meet the father and mother of our host, we still got to meet them as we drove near their house in a bid to avoid the city traffic while on our way to distribution. With much joy, they welcomed us as the friends of their eldest son. We encouraged them to love the Lord and opened their home for Bible studies and prayer meetings once the construction is over. I believe that the parents' home is prepared by the Lord for His testimony.

Ministry Station and Truth Book Room

Our brother also showed us the plan he has for constructing a library and book room for many seekers to come and receive healthy spiritual food. This he did out of his burden, he designed and built it with his own expenses, all for the Lord's testimony. 

Overall, what I could see clearly is the preparatory works for the Lord's testimony in Arunachal Pradesh. The Lord is preparing and perfecting His building materials, both organic and physical, for His strong testimony. The state, though it has been witnessing thousands of indigenous people turning to Christ, they were mostly influenced by the pentecostal movement of signs and wonders. There is a great need for the supply of the healthy word of God. Only the ministry of the word in the Lord's recovery can meet the need. For this, the Lord has been preparing our brother and sister; saving them, giving them good families, jobs, properties, all for the Lord's testimony. Now, our burden is that the Lord will raise up His lampstand by 2020.

Lord, bless Your move in Arunachal Pradesh, and establish Your testimony in Itanagar! 

Comforting One Another

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14But we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are sleeping, that you would not grieve even as also the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so also those who have fallen asleep through Jesus, God will bring with Him. 

1 Thessalonians 4:18Therefore comfort one another with these words.

The father of a family who has been in contact for a decade had a kidney failure two weeks ago and later succumbed to his bodily weakness. I was traveling for the ministry literature distribution then. Only after I was back to Gurgaon I could visit the family. In fact, today we visited the family still in grief of the lost of their father.

Though we were ready to handle the burial and funeral service of the brother even when I travelled as I was about to I form the brothers for the same. Yet we were not fully given the ground to do so. This family being from a Hindu Brahmin background, they had to go along with the rituals after the death of their father, perhaps, due to family pressure. We had no say in the matter whatsoever. Neither were we consulted nor were we given any ground. Neither was the family regular for any church meeting or did they give us regular time to visit them. It was all left to their discretion and decision.

Nevertheless, as Christian brothers we visited them today and comforted them with the comfort of God. The Bible verses quoted above were read together and we enjoyed a sweet time of fellowship together. Though the pain of losing one's dear ones still gripped the entire family, we comforted them with the word of God and prayed for them.

Besides, we also encouraged them to pay heed to themselves who are still alive and that they need not worry about the one who was already gone. As the living ones, we must love the Lord and pursue the Lord, awaiting His return with the hope of being caught alive as Paul exhorted the Thessalonians.

We also gave them the opportunity to have a regular meeting at their house at their own will and time. Every believer is precious in the Lord’s eyes and we will shepherd the family as long as they are open to the Lord's shepherding.

Perhaps, this is the new beginning in their Christian life for the church life. Though they promised to open their home and start coming for the meeting, we look to the Lord for His shepherding. We trust the Lord will shepherd them to be established in the Christian faith and in the present truth to bear the Lord's testimony together as the church here in Gurugram. 

Lord, gain the whole family fully, reconstitute them for Your testimony. 

Shepherding in Shillong: Household Salvation

Acts 16:31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.

A few years ago when I visited the church in Shillong, groups of saints in batches came for fellowship. One of the groups, in fact, the first group who came comprised of mostly sisters from the economically lower section of the society and most of them from Gentile backgrounds. 

Our fellowship began with the question, "How many of your family members are not yet saved?" I vividly remember a sister who raised her hand and said she was the only one in her family who was saved. Then, the Lord burdened me to fellowship on claiming the promise of God in Acts 16:31 for household salvation. I fellowshipped with the saints that they pray earnestly for their unsaved family members and claim the promise of God. I gave my own testimony of how the Lord burdened me to pray for my own family salvation when I first got save in 1997, December 31st night. Gradually, the Lord answered my prayer and saved all my family members one by one, the last one being my father, after thirteen years of prayer.

I also encouraged the saints to exercise their faith and pray until the Lord fully answered all their prayer, especially in their household salvation. The size of the household depends on the faith they have in the Lord. If their faith is their close blood relatives, that's their household. If their faith is stronger, the household could be all their relatives, near and far. Even stronger would be, the entire, clan, tribe, village, town, district, state, and even country. But I encouraged them to go according to the faith apportioned to them by the Lord, and not beyond. But faithfully pray, and pray, and pray.

This time when the Lord led me to visit Shillong again, in one fo the home metings, a sister, by name Lakshmi, testified to me her wonderful experiences of the fellowship I gave a few years ago.

She said, "Brother when you came last time you encouraged us to pray for our family members who are not yet saved. Since then, I started praying for all my family members. The Lord answered my prayer, and now all my family members are saved! Here is one of my sisters who got saved and baptized." As she spoke she pointed to the sister who was saved and was present in the home meeting that night.  Then I told her, "Sister, I only ministered what the Bible says. You believed in the word of God, prayed over the word with faith. Therefore, the Lord honored His word and your faith in His word. And the Lord saved your family. Glory be to Him!" I was overjoyed to hear such a testimony! Praise the Lord! 

She further said, "Brother, you told us to read the Bible every day and even eat the word. You told us to pray-read the word of God. I did not understand and I did not know how to pray-read. I tried and tired and tired. Finally, I touched the spirit in the word. And now, I am enjoying the word of God by reading it." I simply replied, "Praise the Lord! This is what the ministry taught us, the way to enjoy the word."

When I spoke those words a few years ago, I did not prepare to speak them. As we fellowshipped, the words just came out. I simply followed the Lord's anointing within me and ministered the word of life as the Spirit led so. Now, I could see the result of faithfully ministering the word, most of the time, not knowing why. It was all the instant speaking of the Lord through His word.

May the Lord bless this sister and her testimony for many more household salvation!

Shepherding in Shillong: A Seeking Sister Student

We were at a school cafe in Nongstoin introducing the ministry books to a Pastor who serves there. It was about lunchtime when students came and ate their lunch at the same cafe we were in. As we were introducing the ministry books, a seeking sister student overheard our words. After she ate her lunch, she came and inquired if we were Christians. We replied with joy in the affirmative and introduced the ministry books to her as well. To our surprise, her countenance was such of a very hungry seeking sister, waiting to devour spiritual food we were to serve. Her very visage captured my attention.

I wasted no time but introduced the New Testament Recovery Version, explaining to her how good the translation and footnotes are. Her innate response was, "Sir, I want this Bible. How much does it cost?" I was so joyful to hear that and wanted to gift her as a gift. But she insisted that she would pay for it and that she had only Rs.200 though the Bible cost Rs.500. She then went to get the money she had and paid for the Bible. I also gifted her, Shepherding Materials, in addition to the free Rhema books she received.

Later, she testified that that day she was about to take leave from school. But something within her being drew her to come to school that day. Though she didn't know the reason then, after we met, she realized that it was for this purpose. Besides, she is also a key member of the student's fellowship. Though we could not meet the student Christian group, she became a channel to pass on the free books to all the students.

She testified to us that she lost her father at a young age and her mother is jobless too, now taking care of the household needs. Her uncle is the one supporting her education with a couple of her siblings. Even with such an economical background, she insisted on paying for the Bible even when I offer to gift her was such a testimony. In addition, after she received all the books, mostly for free, she felt she should pay for it if she could. I interrupted her and asked her what she would like to become in life. She replied, "A medical doctor." Then, I replied back, "When God bless you to become a famous medical doctor, you can support the literature ministry. As for now, enjoy the ministry books."

In fact, we had no plan to visit Nongstoin. We came here because of the proposal of our local brothers. We were open to the Lord's leading through the members of the Body. We simply obeyed the Lord's leading. And this was just one of the results of following the Lord's leading step by step.

Besides this sister, there was also another seeking brother who placed an order for the entire set of books in English. It was to feed the Lord's chosen ones in Nongstoin that the Lord took us all the way, about three hours' drive from Shillong, through beautiful landscapes and hours of breath of free fresh air.

Lord, bless Your seekers in Nongstoin and raise up Your testimony!

Shepherding in Shillong: Brothers' Testimonies

Four local brothers from the church in Shillong, two from the Khasi speaking meeting and the other two from the Hindi speaking meeting accompanied us in our literature journey in Meghalaya. We traveled along with these brothers to Jowai, Shillong, and Nongstoin. As we journeyed together in a car, we also enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship, listening to their testimonies, and also ministering the truths and sharing some common practices of the local churches. These are key functioning brothers who are leading the saints practically.

The Ministry Books

Almost fifteen years ago, a brother received the ministry books from a Pastor who was initially opened to the ministry and later turned negative. This Pastor received the ministry books and gave them over to our brother when he shifted from Shillong to Nepal. These books were instrumental in opening the eyes of our brother to see the all-inclusive Christ and also the local church. The books he received were: The All-Inclusive Christ, The Economy of God, The Basic Revelation in the Holy Scriptures, and others. Through these books, he saw something of the church and he even started preaching the truths he enjoyed. Later, through a brother, he was introduced to the church in Shillong. Now he and another brother are pursuing the life-studies online on a daily basis.

Almost seven years ago, another brother received the seven Rhema books. He had been a theologian and a Pastor. In his thirst for the truth, he would read spiritual books and devour them over and over again. When he read the ministry books, he continuously read them over and over again at least five times. He was overwhelmed with the high peak truth on Christ and the church. The books he initially read were: A Basic Element of the Christian Life 1,2,3, the All-Inclusive Christ, The Economy of God, The Knowledge of Life, and The Glorious Church. 

His testimony on calling upon the name of the Lord is superb! The moment he read about calling upon the Lord, he would go up to a mountain near his home every day, for about one to two hours, just to call out loud, the name of the Lord, O Lord Jesus! This he had been doing for about three and a half years, every day despite the weather. If it was cold he would wear warm jacket, if it was raining he would take umbrella. He loved to call upon the Lord's name. The result he testified was amazing: He became very joyful! Before the exercise of calling upon the Lord's name, he was a moody, sad, and serious Christian. After he released his spirit and touched the Lord in spirit by calling upon the Lord's name, he then has been a joyful brother. His whole being changed! His attitude towards people changed! Despite being poor materially, he has been so happy and joyful. O what a testimony! I was so impressed and also so happy to hear such a testimony!

I truly praise and worship the Lord for all His marvelous and mysterious works on these brothers. Now they are becoming pillars for the church in Shillong and are instrumental in shepherding the saints in the local churches all over Meghalaya! What a blessing to have heard from these dear brothers enjoying the ministry practically! What a blessing to be able to travel with them for the distribution of the very ministry books they have been enjoying!

The ministry of the word is for all and is a great blessing to the children of God! I have been so much encouraged by these testimonies and I feel even more blessed that I am serving in the distribution of these wonderful ministry books!

Praise the Lord!

Shepherding in Shillong: Brothers' Fellowship

On the 8th of December, the Lord's day afternoon, the leading brothers of the church in Shillong came together for fellowship. Initially, a brother and I thought of fellowshipping on the truth concerning oneness as desired by the Lord in the Bible as expounded in the book, The Genuine Ground of Oneness. But as we gathered together and started the fellowship, the Lord's leading was to speak on the more urgent need, I believe, as the Lord sees it for the church. The burden on truth constitution was released.

Constitution

For about three hours, we enjoyed the flow of life through the ministry of the word. We ministered from the life of the children of God, how the Lord led them out of Egypt into the wilderness and fed them with just manna and manna only for forty long years with the main goal of reconstituting them. Using this analogy, we fellowshipped at length on the urgency for the saints to be reconstituted with the up-to-date speaking of the Lord in His recovery. For the practical constitution, we introduced the Holy Word for Morning Revival and encouraged the brothers to try it first and then introduce to the saints. To avoid misunderstanding, we also clarified the distinction between the publication work and the local churches.  The publication works are for the feeding and shepherding of the saints in the local churches.

For the constitution of the saints, we also encouraged the brothers to pursue the ministry books, especially the Holy Bible, Recovery Version, and also some crucial ministry books. The ministry books are meant to help enjoy and understand the word of God and not to replace the Bible.

For this, I also encouraged two brothers to take care of the ministry books; one for Hindi for which I gave one entire set of Hindi books, and one for English for which I left two books of the ministry books by brother Watchman Nee and Witness Lee.

Fellowship, Blending, and Building

We also fellowship the need for the saints in the local church to be blended as one though there may be different language speaking meetings. Here in Shillong, they have Khasi speaking and Hindi speaking meetings. The two meetings should just be one church under one administration within the same local church. 

We also encouraged the church to blend with nearby local churches in North East India. If possible, they may also blend with churches in different parts of India and abroad. We released our burden to help the brothers see the vision and need for fellowship, blending, and building up of the Body of Christ in oneness. 

Prayer

After a sweet time of fellowship, we brothers prayed together and committed ourselves, the saints, and the church to the Lord.

The brothers in Shillong also are in fellowship with at least 15 other local churches all over Meghalaya. May the Lord shepherd and recover all of them!

May the Lord bless the church in Shillong! 

Shepherding in Shillong: An Officer's Family

A high ranking officer, an IRS, who also is my distant relative was just posted to Shillong. One Lord's day afternoon we visited them for a short while fellowship. The time spent with the family was very encouraging. 

I have met this family about a decade ago the first time when my own elder sister invited me to attend a Baptist congregation in Imphal where I shared on "Christ as Life" when I was given the time. It was after that message that the wife of this officer invited me to their home for lunch. Since then, our relationship in Christ continued, though not frequent.

As I visited them this time, I was very glad, at the same time very surprised at their countenance and their reaction to our visit as Christian brothers. I could easily sense that they have grown so much in the Lord; their love for the Lord has grown so much. Listening to their testimonies of loving the Lord and their effort to serve the Lord in whatever way they could was such a joy to my ear. In fact, I have so much burden for them and have been praying for them in my family prayer. I could literally see the answer to my prayer.

The brother testified of me that I have been very blessed as I have been serving the Lord and he, just a servant of the government of India, despite being a very reputed high ranking job. He confessed he is just a government servant and I am the servant of God. Though I take no pride in what the Lord blessed me with, I am glad that he could see and realize the value of God and serving Him. Not many high officers have this view. I even questioned him if he would allow his own son to serve God. To my surprise again, he replied that if the Lord so wills, that would be his first choice. In fact, he testified that he left it to the Lord even as his own father gave him the choice of serving the Lord when he was young.

I released my burden on the one new man and the need for all Christians to see the vision of the one new man and be blended and built up as one. He appreciated the truth we have been proclaiming and I hope that one day the Lord would shepherd him fully for His testimony wherever he is. 

I gifted him, The Orthodoxy of the Church, and Shepherding Materials to his daughter.

After enjoying a time of prayer together, we took leave. May the Lord continue to work in my brother's family and fully shepherd them.