I was in spirit on the Lord’s Day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, Saying, What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, And in the midst of the lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle. Revelation 1:10-13
The Church, the Body of Christ, the one New Man, the Bride of Christ, is being expressed in the localities where the saints are as the many local churches. These local churches are the practicality and expression of the one unique universal Church. These churches are the procedure for God to fulfill His eternal goal. They are not the end but the means. And these local churches are the golden lampstands while viewing in the spirit according to God's view. This is the view the apostles had in the New Testament, and many brothers have had in the church history, including Brother Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. This is the view that we must have today. And I also have this view since the Lord brought me into the church life in His recovery. Now, this has become my vision, my burden, and my dream. In fact, my "golden dream!" The dream of the golden lampstands all over India! The dream of India being brightened by the shining of the golden lampstands! Therefore, I am serving with this dream with my fellow brothers in coordination.
The golden dream has been burdening me so much for states in India where there is no golden lampstand raised up on the proper ground of oneness in fellowship with the Body. For this, the Lord has placed me in the literature service and allotted my portion in the distribution of the ministry of the word by travelling places, especially to these localities where there are seeking believers without a proper standing for the Lord's testimony. Since 2006, I have been touring different parts of India, wherever the Spirit led me. By 2019, all the important states, districts, cities, towns, and villages have been visited with the ministry literature distributed, and the seekers fellowshipped with and met. Whatever ministry books have been distributed, I reckon them as "ministry seeds" sown into that locality, waiting for it to grow and bear fruit one day.
Listen! Behold, the sower went out to sow…into the good earth and yielded fruit, coming up and growing; and one bore thirtyfold, and one sixtyfold, and one a hundredfold. (Mark 4:3, 8)
The sons of peace, the Lord's remnant, whom the Lord led me to, were followed up in prayer and shepherding them with excerpts from the ministry portion now and then. Some of these "fruits" were gathered weekly and monthly for prayer and fellowship. I have been graced to spend time with a group of brothers and sisters from Nagaland, praying weekly for the Lord to raise up His golden lampstands. As we have been praying, we could gradually see the hand of the Lord moving, gathering and recovering His remnants. I trust the Lord that He will accomplish His work in due time. The golden dream for Nagaland will be fulfilled soon!
In the state of Meghalaya too, the Lord is gradually recovering His remnants. I have been praying with some key brothers weekly and in fellowship with some brothers monthly. This is the Lord's work and He will accomplish it in time. The golden dream for Meghalaya will be fulfilled soon!
Similarly, in the state of Odisha, Chattisgarh, Bihar, and Jharkhand, regular morning revival, ministry pursuit, fellowship and meetings have been going on in full swing now. It is just a matter of time when the Lord will raise up His lampstand in all these states where there is no lampstand yet. The golden dream for Odisha, Chattisgarh, Bihar, and Jharkhand will be fulfilled soon!
The Lord also gave a brother in Madhya Pradesh with whom I have been praying and pursuing the ministry together. Just yesterday, another brother from Rajasthan called to fellowship his hunger and thirst for the word. Now he is also in the list of seeking contacts I have been sending ministry excerpt regularly. Thereby adding two more states, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to the golden dream.
Meanwhile, the Lord has been working among the brothers who have already taken the stand on the ground of oneness to build up the local church. This important matter of learning to build up the local church has been going on since the Lord initiated it through a matured and elder brother whose fellowship has always been very enlightening, edifying, and perfecting. I myself am blessed and graced to be one of the trainees, learning from this brother.
How to build up a local church? A proper christian living, a living that enjoys Christ being expressed in the local church is the first step to building up. For this, there must be the daily feeding on the word of God to be constituted with the word and even become the word of God. This is the "word becoming flesh and taberncaling among us, full of grace and reality."
And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality. John 1:14
This will result in the church expressing God through the saints who are constitued with the word. There will be a practical expression of grace and reality. This is the sign of the church being builded up. Another sign of being builded up is the sweet coordination among the saints especially the brothers. There will be a peaceful coordination among all the brothers in mutual submission, the elder ones to the younger ones and vice versa, which will command the blessing of God and release the flow of living water to, among, and through all the saints. Which will also become a pattern for and to the new lampstands to be raised up. There will be the shining of the local churches as the golden lampstands. This is the golden dream!
Lord, raise up Your golden lampstands all over India! Lord, fulfill the golden dream in India!