Care for the Needy

Deuteronomy 15:7   If among you there is a needy one amidst your brothers within any of your gates in your land, which Jehovah your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart and you shall not close up your hand from your needy brother;

15:8   But you must open your hand to him, and you must lend enough for his need in whatever he lacks.

15:10  You must give to him, and your heart shall not be displeased when you give to him; for on account of this matter Jehovah your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings.

15:11  For the needy will not cease being in the land; therefore I am commanding you, saying, You must open your hand to your brother, to the poor one with you and to the needy one with you in your land.

The principle set up by God in the Old Testament still holds true with the New Testament saints too in taking care of the poor and needy saints. As a Christian and even as a human being we must be humane yet divine in caring for the needy people, especially the needy saints. 

COVID-19, the global pandemic, has thrown millions into joblessness and a good number of our new ones and their relatives got affected too. As the church in Gurugram, we cannot turn a blind eye to the new ones we are shepherding. This is a good time to show brotherly love in words and deeds too to the needy saints. 

I have been fellowshipping with and shepherding a brother daily. Through the shepherding, he has become more and more open to fellowship his personal matters and whatever the Lord touched him to open up to me. As a brother, I listened to all that he has to say and bring it for fellowship with my fellow brothers with whom I am coordination for the church life. In fellowship, we felt it was the Lord's doing to help the needy ones in a wise way. Not to give them an impression of the church helping whenever they need help but in a hidden way of shepherding help. Therefore, we started to help a brother and his relatives at least for their basic needs of food for survival during this time. For they have lost their jobs and their future is very uncertain. Though we are not rich in ourselves either, we feel good to help within our capacity and take care of the needy saints.

I personally was helped by the brothers' fellowship to take care of the timely needs of the needy saints. As brothers in the church, we even fellowshipped week by week to see if there is any needy saints that need timely help. We all brothers agreed in one accord to help the needy saints sufficiently, not luxuriously. The Lord even burdened some saints to offer specifically for this need. 

What a joy indeed to be able to care for the needy saints! The joy of the one who received help is our joy too. This helping of the needy saints is not to receive blessing from the Lord as promised in the word. We leave that matter to the Lord. But our rightful responsibility is to help according to the Lord's leading.

You must open your hand to your brother, to the poor one with you and to the needy one with you in your land.

Young People Fellowship

Beginning this year, the Lord burdened me to take care of the young people in the church in Gruugram. Initially, I was a little hesitant, but gradually the Lord proved to me that this was the burden assigned to me by  Himself. In the beginning, I simply followed the normal procedure that has been carried on for years. Gradually, the Lord gave me the light to lead the young people in a living way.

First, I encouraged them to read the Bible daily with the goal of reading through the Bible once a week. Second, they need to spend time with the Lord in prayer, at least 15 minutes daily, and increase it to an hour or two. Third, they need to pursue at least a message a week in addition to the daily morning revival pursuit. Fourth, they need to pair up with one another for the daily morning revival and prayer, of which, I paired up with two brothers. Fifth, they need to maintain their Goodland record, their personal experiences and enjoyment of the Lord. Sixth, if they have any questions or concerns, they can contact me for a personal fellowship for which I will maintain confidentiality. Seventh, every Lord's day afternoon we would meet for Young People Fellowship when we would sing and pray together, and they would all share their truth learning from the past week, and also share the top portion of their Goodland, and then wind up the fellowship with "open fellowship" or Q and A, if any. 

I have been spending time with the young people week by week; encouraging them and fellowshipping with them. I enjoyed their fellowship and I hope they enjoyed my fellowship too. To strengthen the shepherding further, with some families and serving ones, we started a weekly pursuit with fellowship and prayer for shepherding the young people. The best time of a human life is youth. To shepherd them at this age is very crucial; to build them up in every practical way possible is an urgent need. Be it their daily living, studies, spiritual life, etc., I would love to offer help to them in whatever way I can. I have some definite goals for all them that they all would grow up to love the Lord more than anything else, join the full-time training one day, be well educated academically, and become proper and useful vessels tot he Lord as pillars to bear the Lord's testimony. They are the next generation or the Lord's move. For this, I volunteer willingly to shepherd the young flock in the house of God.

1 Peter 5:2 Shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion but willingly, according to God; not by seeking gain through base means but eagerly.

Lord, bless all the young people You gave for my shepherding.

Online Gospel Meeting

Proclaim the word; be ready in season and out of season; convict, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and teaching. 2 Timothy 4:2

Amidst the nationwide lockdown, who would have ever imagined that a Gospel Meeting could be conducted. That's what I thought and regret the days I did not go out for gospel preaching before the lockdown. Things have completely changed now. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to meet people face to face and preach the gospel. Coronavirus has changed the whole social life unexpectedly. Nevertheless, the burden for the gospel has been intensified all the more despite the grim social and economical situation.

A week ago on Saturday we had a fellowship on contacting our contacts with gospel flash cards. In fact, this is one of the best ways to contact people during this time. Along with this burden, came the burden to contact at least one contact by phone call daily for the gospel. Then, came the burden for gospel meeting online.

Last Wednesday, we brothers fellowshipped on how to practically strengthen and preach the gospel. Then, we all felt good to conduct a gospel meeting online on Friday. But, for the preparation, we only had Thursday, just one day. Since the matter was so urgent and we could not meet frequently with the church's daily online truth pursuit going on, I could design the invitation card for gospel meeting only on Thursday night. 

Only by Friday morning, the actual invitation to our new ones for the gospel meeting started. For this, a Zoom account was purchased, and some urgent practical fellowship on the meeting was done. And I was assigned to preach the gospel. 

Since everything we did was for the first time, no one really knew how to practically coordinate. So I picked up the burden to single handedly do all the practical things. Effectively, I just got roughly 45 minutes to prepare for the message, that too, for the presentation of crucial Bible verses. 

The meeting was schedule for 7:00 PM for Friday, and we were suppose to start the conference call by 6:30 PM for prayer. I needed to host the meeting online, prepare the presentation, do the compere, and also preach the gospel message. I literally was under heavy pressure to multi task all the responsibilities. I could log in only by 6:45 PM and I didn't even have time to groom myself, which was also needed as I would be seen online by all the gospel friends. As I hosted the call, with the hymns singing going on, I asked my wife to wet my handkerchief to wash my face and bring my tie. I did the wiping of my face and tying of my tie with the singing of hymn and monitoring the online conference altogether. Only after I did a quick grooming, I turned my video camera on. Then, welcomed all the gospel friends and formally started the meeting. A brother was to share his testimony, but due to technical issue, he was simply not audible. So I had to jump in to preach the gospel message, physically and mentally unprepared in timing. 

But all these were done in fellowship and with the prayer of the Body. I also had a personal face time with the Lord in prayer in the morning and the night before. The Lord gave me the words to minister and the burden to release. Surprisingly, 51 devices were logged in, about 41 gospel friends' devices were recorded. After I shared the word of God, my brother coordinated to strengthened the gospel message further. Then, we signed off with a hymn. Then all my mental and physical pressure were released. All the while, my spirit was very exercised and I enjoyed the Lord's supply throughout the meeting. 

The feedbacks poured in one by one after the meeting. The following day, more feedbacks came in. I was surprised to learn that what I thought was so sudden and lacked preparation had a good impact on the gospel friends. As we brothers fellowshipped, we were so thankful to the Lord for His leading and blessing. Ultimately, it was He who led, anointed, and blessed the gospel meeting. 

Praise the Lord! My first experience of an online gospel meeting will be an eternal memory. 

May the Lord save everyone who heard the gospel of Jesus Christ! I declare in faith that they will be saved one day, if not, are already saved through the hearing of faith. 

Accepting Our Circumstances

Each one, brothers, in what status he was called, in this let him remain with God. 1 Corinthians 7:24

Today morning I was very much impressed by the Lord's speaking through the ministry of the word during my morning revival time. It was so apt and fitting to the present circumstances the whole world is going through, especially, the one I am going through. Often times, I tried to set things right according to my opinion assuming that my circumstances were wrong. God knows, and I am also seriously learning this lesson of accepting my circumstances. For the children of God, there is no accident or coincidence. All things happen under the knowledge and permission of God. So, the best is to accept every circumstance and let God accomplish what He wants to accomplish through it. 

I enjoyed this message so much, read together with two brothers with whom I prayed together regularly and also sent to some seeking believers and friends. This message was so timely and fit right into the situation I am in. 

Another very important point revealed in this chapter is that those who love the Lord, who are for Him, and who are one with Him must be willing to accept any kind of circumstance or situation.

It is very important for us to see that God is always in our circumstances. We may say that the circumstances are actually God coming to us in disguise. Apparently we are in a particular circumstance; actually that circumstance is God coming to us and God with us. In verse 24 Paul says, “Each one, brothers, in what state he was called, in this let him remain with God.” Notice the words “with God.” They indicate that when we take our circumstances we take God. Both within the circumstances and behind them, God is present.

Once again we see that Paul had an excellent spirit, a spirit which was submissive, content, and satisfied. Paul did not have any complaints. In his spirit he was very submissive and content with his situation. No matter how he was treated, he did not complain. To him, every situation was of the Lord, and he would not initiate anything to change it. Paul could say, “To me, everything works for good. This is the reason I don’t want to change anything. I know that when I take my circumstances, I take my God. In every situation is my God, the One whom I love and the One to whom I belong absolutely.” What an excellent spirit is displayed in this attitude!

I appreciate 1 Corinthians 7 not primarily for all the answers it gives, but because this chapter conveys the spirit of a person who loves the Lord, who cares for the Lord’s interests on earth, who is absolutely for the Lord and one with the Lord, and who in every respect is obedient, submissive, and satisfied with God and the circumstances arranged by Him.(Excerpt from The Life-study of 1 Corinthians, Message 42)

Yesterday, an incident happened with one of the saints and that triggered a lot of feeling among the saints especially when one sister who is neither fully in the church life nor not at all, posted a question, questioning if the saints were really own with the church. Many saints responded positively and I also had to answer the post with scripture verses.

Yes, sister. The saints are really with the church, and the saints are the church themselves. For the church is the assembly of the believers and members of the Body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:27

Now you are the Body of Christ, and members individually.

Yet, not all the members of the Body have the same growth in life. Therefore, we need to take care of one another, especially, the weaker members.

1 Corinthians 12:22-23

But much rather the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we consider to be less honorable, these we clothe with more abundant honor; and our uncomely members come to have more abundant comeliness.

1 Peter 1:22

Since you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned brotherly love, love one another from a pure heart fervently.

May we love one another with a pure heart and honor the Lord by shepherding one another, especially the weaker ones.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love suffers long. Love is kind; it is not jealous. Love does not brag and is not puffed up; It does not behave unbecomingly and does not seek its own things; it is not provoked and does not take account of evil; It does not rejoice because of unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; It covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

This was what happened, and though the circumstance was not a good one when it happened, the Lord used the circumstance to manifest the saints' constitution and turned it as a perfecting "training" for all.

Even today too, I found a mistake done by a brother and thought of correcting it as it was related to money. Then I was reminded not to change anything in what he wrote in the mail. The accountant will find out anyway while tallying the account. Likewise, in other matters too, when accepting the circumstances the Lord allowed, it was so peaceful and even joyful. It gave no ground for worry, anxiety, fear, doubt, and no complaint at all. Rather it resulted in solemn peace.

Praise the Lord for this wonderful lesson of accepting our circumstances!

Exercising Authority

2 Corinthians 10:8 For even if I should boast somewhat more abundantly concerning our authority, which the Lord has given for building you up and not for overthrowing you, I will not be put to shame.
13:10 Therefore I write these things while being absent in order that when present I would not have to use severity, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for building up and not for overthrowing.

God is the God of love, grace, and mercy; He is also the God of righteousness. Mostly, as children of God, we enjoy His love, grace, and mercy. And very rarely we are ready to face His righteousness. And if we do, we are in fear and trembling before God, if we have a proper heart and attitude towards God. Sooner or later, a believer who has been enjoying God's love, grace, and mercy will also have to face God's righteousness where God exercises His authority.

The same goes for the believers, all of us,  in our day to day living. Be it at home, or school, or office, or in the church, God has His place for authority which is mostly based on His righteousness. I personally love the sweeter side of God's face. His love is wonderful, His grace more, and His mercy much more. When faced with situations I always try the way of love, grace, and mercy first. But certain case needs the exercise of god's authority. Today I was put into such a case, and I need to exercise the authority God bestowed upon me to carry out His works, both in the church and in my official works.

Due to the nation lockdown in India for the 21 days, which was just extended to another two weeks till 3rd May, officially we were not in a position to print HWMR for the saints. We have started a pilot project pioneering with Tamil language to bring the HWMR in eBook format. The brothers who were working on this worked really hard to bring it on time. When all was done and released electronically to be purchased online, the very next day of the release, we received a circulated copy of a pirated version. This was like pouring cold water on a flickering flame that suddenly doused off the dim light. 

Officially, I and my brother with whom I coordinate had no choice but to take action. We fellowshipped and did whatever we were supposed to do within the limit of the authority God has given us. I personally would love to exercise grace and mercy and simply forgive the brother who did it. But I cannot nullify the righteousness of God. Therefore, I personally made a call to the concerned brother directly and spoke to him. He immediately confessed his mistake. I told him not to repeat the mistake ever again, and also asked him to tell all the people to whom he sent the file to delete and purchase the legal version. Besides, we also wrote an official letter to the church elders in the locality where the brother belongs. And the necessary actions were taken. 

Another incident was with the church WhatsApp group. In fellowship, I had written an appeal to all the group members to make use of the church's group for church purposes only. But a particular sister kept violating the appeal. In fact, some saints got so annoyed with her and suggested that I remove her from the group. Yes, I did consider removing her but, decided to give her more grace for her to realize. An appeal was written, a reminder was sent by some group members to her when she violated the norms, and I also sent her a personal message requesting her not to keep forwarding irrelevant messages or posts. Though she replied she would comply, she would still violate what she promised to keep. 

Today morning she posted a piece of political news and a joke. The moment I saw it, deep within me, I had a strong conviction that I needed to exercise the authority the Lord has given me for the shepherding of the church. So I politely reprimanded her in the group and requested her to rather share her experiences and enjoyment of Christ for the spiritual benefit of all the members. Well, the message may seem quite strong, perhaps. But deep within I felt that was what I needed to do as one of the admins. And I felt quite peaceful doing so. Otherwise, I would be like a father leaving the house too open to let children do whatever they want. She did apologize and left the group. What the brothers wanted was actually being done not by me removing her, but by her realizing her fault and leaving it with apologies.

These two experiences became a treasure to me today. I had no intention whatsoever of overthrowing anybody. But with the burden for the learning, benefit, and building up of all the members in the church's group, I did so. The exercise of authority, when needed, is all for the building up. And my heart is all for the building up.

Prophet: True and False

The word prophet has been very misunderstood by Christians today, especially among the charismatic preachers. Some dared to call themselves "Prophet" so and so, and take pride in it. They even dared to advertise themselves with their photos on a large billboard, on news and magazines. But the prophet the Bible reveals are meek, lowly, and humble. Therefore, the study on this subject is important. The message on "CHRIST—THE TRUE PROPHET TYPIFIED BY MOSES" from the Crystallization-study of Deuteronomy has shown me great light.

There are five burdens in that message as follows:

1. What or who a true, or real, prophet is?
2. Moses the prophet, who is a type of Christ the Prophet.
3. Know Christ the Prophet.
4. Paul, the counterpart of Moses, the chief prophet in the New Testament, the one who completed the word of God (Col. 1:25).
5. Know who the false prophets are.

Some key Bible verses are the backbone for the proper understanding of who and what the true prophet is.

Deuteronomy 18:15-19A Prophet will Jehovah your God raise up for you from your midst, from among your brothers, like me; you shall listen to Him. This is according to all that you asked of Jehovah your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear any more of the voice of Jehovah my God, and let me not see this great fire any longer, lest I die. And Jehovah said to me, They have done well in what they have spoken. A Prophet will I raise up for them from the midst of their brothers like you; and I will put My words in His mouth, and He will speak to them all that I command Him. And the man who will not listen to My words which He will speak in My name, I Myself will require it from him.

Acts 3:22-23 Moses said, “A Prophet will the Lord your God raise up unto you from your brothers, like me; Him shall you hear in whatever things He speaks to you. And it shall be that every soul who does not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.”

Acts 7:37 This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, “A Prophet will God raise up unto you from your brothers, like me.” 

Amos 3:7

Surely the Lord Jehovah will not do anything unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. 

2 Peter 1:20-21 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of one’s own interpretation; For no prophecy was ever borne by the will of man, but men spoke from God while being borne by the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. 

1 Corinthians 7:10 But to the married I charge, not I but the Lord, A wife must not be separated from her husband 

1 Corinthians 7:25 Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who has been shown mercy by the Lord to be faithful.

1 Corinthians 7:40 But she is more blessed if she so remains, according to my opinion; but I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 14:31 For you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged.  

Having known who the true prophet is, there is also a need to know who the false prophets are.

False Prophets

1. First, the characteristic of the false prophets is that they are actuated by the spirit of deception (1 John 4:6; Jer. 14:14; 23:25; 27:10, 14; Ezek. 13:8); that is, their prophecies are filled primarily with lies.
2. Second, they promise people vain and fleeting prosperity and pleasure (Jer. 6:14; 14:13, 15-16; 23:17, 21; 27:9; 28:16; Ezek. 13:19).
3. Third, they are greedy (Jer. 6:13; Micah 3:11)
4. Fourth, their teachings are somewhat religious on the surface but actually help people to do evil (Jer. 5:31; 23:14, 27, 32; Ezek.  3:22).
5. Fifth, we should discern prophets not by their preaching or the fact that they can perform signs and wonders but by checking the fruit of their work (Matt. 7:16-20).
6. Sixth, false prophets have received some kind of special inspiration to do their work; however, that inspiration is not the Holy Spirit. The source of the words is darkness and deception.
7. Seventh, they are wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing (v. 15).

Therefore, there is a stern warning concerning the false prophets: 

2 John 10 and 11, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not say to him, Rejoice! For he who says to him, Rejoice, shares in his evil works.” This is a very serious warning concerning heretical and false teachers.

The conclusion is, first, we need to regard God’s prophets. Second, we need to live a life of prophesying, a life in the principle of incarnation, that is, a life of oneness with the Lord where both His word and the anointing abide within us. Finally, we also need to beware of the false prophets lest we be led astray.

This learning from the ministry of the word was very helpful to me. I have shared the same to the saints I am fellowshipping with and am shepherding. Praise the Lord for such a healthy word!

Locked-Down But Looked-Up

As the country is on a 21 days lockdown period, many reactions among different kinds of people arise. The poorer section of the society suffers from poverty; jobs were gone, no money, no food, no shelter...Sometimes, what has been going on sounds like, in a bid to save people, people are being killed. To save from an unknown disease, people are dying of known economic disaster. The lockdown is also currently going on in many countries of the world. The earth, for the first time, had her rest from human intervention. Roads were empty, business shut, all men were imprisoned in their homes. Busy buzzing cities turn into ghost towns.  This is perhaps, a wonderful life-time experience. For many who do not know God, they get bored waiting for their release like a caged bird dreaming of being set free one day.

Well, that perhaps is the reality of many, but not for the saints I know of. I have heard of reports globally, and within India in our fellowship that all the saints are just being revived! The lockdown is a knockdown for the soulish and fleshly man, but for the spiritual man, it is a kneel-down time to spend with the Lord in fellowship and in prayer.

The first-hand report I received from the saints in my locality is, the saints are much more revived! During this lockdown period, our church life activity doubled! If not, tripled or more... Not exaggerating, but narrating the fact. I myself, suddenly became very busy, not with official works or family responsibilities, but fellowshipping with the saints online. Daily we have online meetings as the curch, daily I have fellowship with few saints, and almost daily I have group meetings to enjoy with a group of saints. What a blessing in disguise! 

I also heard similar testimonies from the saints in my own locality. The saints are so happy about the lockdown. Of course, positively speaking. They testified that they have never experienced and enjoyed the Lord in this way. Daily from morning till night, morning revival, Bible reading, truths pursuing, church meeting, group meeting,..has been a daily schedule now. As they narrated their testimony to me, I just felt like this is the revival we have been looking for. Not an outward revival of a sudden spur-in-spirit through a revivalist, but a daily moment by moment, one-on-one revival in the spirit! 

The lockdown actually for the saints is a lookup to God. Locked done on earth, yet looked up to heaven. To the saints, this is a glorious time, to the world, it is a gloomy time. To the saints it is a blessing in disguise, to the world it is a curse in dismay. The saints have even wished that the lockdown continues, in a positive sense. God forbid to mean it otherwise. But to the world, they have been waiting for this doomsday to be over soon.

Yes, we are locked down outwardly, but we also looked up to the Lord inwardly and constantly. It may not be wrong to quote this famous verse now in Romans and apply it today:

Romans 8:28-29 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;