Shepherding Lesson

In shepherding the new ones, there are ups and downs. Sometimes they are open and indeed, very open, yet other times, they seem to be closed and very closed to the extent that they will not even pick my calls. Some of the new ones have come into the church life and are growing in the Lord, yet others are still on the same level when I first met them.  People change, and it's very hard to predict how one will turn out to be. 

There are many new ones I have been shepherding, though they are from different parts of India. I have been in touch with them at different times of the week. Sometimes they respond positively and yet other times they seem not to be interested at all. Some very promising ones at one point in time suddenly became unapproachable. And the trend is being repeated vice versa. This, sometimes, lead to discouragement. Nevertheless, all these experiences led me to go before the Lord in prayer.

As I was studying my Bible, I came across a couple of verses that described Pauls' experience of opposition. At the first glance, I was shocked, questioning how could that be? How was it possible that people would leave the apostle Paul? I regard him so highly just by reading the epistles he wrote and his testimony as recorded in Acts and his epistles.  How come his own coworkers, the people whom he shepherded left him? This was a paradox to me.

2 Timothy 1:15 This you know, that all who are in Asia turned away from me, of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.

2 Timothy 4:10 For Demas has abandoned me, having loved the present age, and has gone to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia; Titus to Dalmatia.

2 Timothy 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did many evil things to me; the Lord will recompense him according to his works.

2 Timothy 4:16 At my first defense no one was with me to support me, but all abandoned me. May it not be counted against them.

These verses were surprisingly discouraging yet very encouraging too. Discouraging, because many left Paul, a spiritual minister and perhaps, a father figure to many. Encouraging, because if such an apostle can be left by his own coworkers and spiritual children, what big deal is that if some of my new ones did not respond to me positively. So far, I have not had the opposition like Paul with his own coworkers leaving him, all in Asia left him, and no one supported him when in need. My experiences are in no way comparable to Paul's. Therefore, this is encouraging news to me. 

All the new ones are the children of God. Whether they open to me or not, at least they are believers and they would not fall back in their faith. Maybe they are not interested in fellowship with me nor with the church now, but still, their faith in the Lord is established. I can continue to pray for them and I believe, the Lord will recover each one of them, one by one, in due time.

Looking at the new ones will either lead to discouragement or pride. The better would be to simply continue the shepherding work to whoever is open for shepherding and the rest pray and wait for the Spirit to move in them.

May the Lord shepherd me to shepherd others in the way He wants me to, and grace me to be faithful in shepherding.

Ministry Journey to Mathura, UP

The Sovereign God in His infinite wisdom does what He deems best for His testimony. I have been graced and blessed to be an unworthy witness to His move recently too and participated in it. While India was struck by the second wave of Covid, the Spirit of God was also moving in the hearts of His lovers and seekers, seeking them out for His testimony in new localities in North India. The chronological record of the Lord's move in Mathur and Gatholi in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur in Rajasthan is below as I reported it to the coworkers serving in India.

2014 Salvation

•A family of three brothers was saved from an idolatrous background in Mathura

•They became very jealous for the gospel and preached the gospel in the nearby cities almost everyday

•They brought many new believers to Christ and also raised up new churches

2017 Came out of the Camp

•Due to conflict of spiritual interest, they came out of the denomination

•Out of much spiritual hunger, the key brother visited New Delhi to purchase the Holy Bible in Hindi and other Christian literature in Hindi

•They began to pursue the books of a famous Christian author in India and listened to some selected TV preachers

•They started meeting as a local church according to their understanding

2020 Discovered the Ministry Books!

• In July 2020 after the first wave of Covid, the key brother visited a Christian bookstore in New Delhi where he found the ministry books! He purchased 14 titles of Hindi ministry books and started pursuing the truths.
• Once he read the ministry books by Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, he lost the taste of all other Christian writings and TV preachers’ messages.
• He could now discern between the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

2021 July The Spirit's Move

•In July 2021, the key brother searched for “Living Stream Ministry” online looking for more ministry books. But the address is of USA. Then he searched for “Amana Literature” as mentioned in the printed books; his search landed on a webpage that has the office phone number of Amana Literature, Gurugram.

•He got connected with the serving ones over the phone and requested for books by Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. He was then sent a Hindi catalogue via WhatsApp that has 50 titles of the ministry books in Hindi with office address.

•The next day, on the 21 of July 2021, without any prior information, he visited Amana Literature office to purchase more ministry books.

•He was given hospitality at the office guest room and spent the whole day fellowshipping with the serving ones. 

•He also attended the meeting of the Church in Gurugram in the evening.

•Rhema books were introduced to him for his reading and distribution. He later distributed to his coworkers in Rajasthan who also read the books.

•He was introduced to a Hindi speaking brother in the church in New Delhi for the follow-up shepherding morning revival.

2021 September Fellowship in the Body

•Having read the ministry books and having enjoyed the fellowship over the phone, they invited the serving ones to visit them in Mathura.

•In fellowship with the coworkers, from 11 to 13 September, serving ones from the church in New Delhi and Gurugram visited them.

•They were so open to the ministry and to the brothers. Several rounds of fellowship were held. They were helped to enjoy some basic life practices of calling upon the Lord’s name, pray-reading the word, morning revival, prophesying, and hymns singing.

•On the Lord’s day, about 70 believers came together for the meeting where brothers ministered the truth concerning God’s plan, Christ’s redemption, the Spirit’s application, the believers, household salvation, and the need for growth in life for the building up of the Body of Christ.

•These believers are from Mathura and Gatholi in UP, and Bharatpur in Rajasthan, from three localities.

•The 5 leading brothers who attended all the sessions of fellowship testified that they have been so supplied with life and have been transferred to a new realm. They expressed their desire to be visited regularly and also planned to visit the churches in New Delhi and Gurugram for more fellowship and blending.

•In all the fellowship, the brothers testified of the presence of the Lord and the rich supply of life through the ministry of the word. The words of the Lord are spirit and life; the Spirit gives life!

May the Lord continue to strengthen the believers there and fully recover them for His testimony!

The Lord's Direction and Presence

As God's people, we need to seek God's direction in every move we make along with His presence all the time. Like Moses, our attitude should be:

And He said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest. And he said to Him, If Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. Exodus 33:14-15

Without the presence of the Lord, all that we do is in the self at best and is in line with Satan at worst. This should be an encouragement to all to always seeking the Lord's will and His presence. Yet on the negative side, we must also be warned of the things that can rob us of God's presence. Two precious lessons need to be learned from the book of Joshua, the failure at Ai and with the Gibeonites.

Then Jehovah said to Joshua, Rise up! Why have you fallen upon your face? Israel has sinned. Indeed they have trespassed My covenant, which I commanded them; indeed they have taken of that which was devoted to destruction; indeed they have stolen; indeed they have been deceptive; indeed they have put it among their goods. Thus the children of Israel are not able to stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become something devoted to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy that which was devoted to destruction from among you. Rise up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, There is something devoted to destruction among you, O Israel; you will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove that which was devoted to destruction from among you. Joshua 7:10-13

And the men took some of their provisions, but they did not ask for the counsel of Jehovah. Joshua 9:14

In these two cases, the cause of sin was disobedience to the word of God due to coveteousness clubbed with hypocrisy and not asking for the counsel of Jehovah in matters great or small. These are the two warnings we have to be on the alert for. Then, our seeking God's direction and His presence will be uninterrupted.

Regarding seeking the Lord's direction and His presence, I testified today in the church meeting that as the Lord led us, we went to Mathura last weekend on the third invitation from the brother. We enjoyed the Lord's presence richly and the Lord indeed answered the prayer of the Body.  The prayer request and the update are below:

Prayer Request

Colossians 4:3-4

Praying at the same time for us also, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak.

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Dear Saints,

Pray for the follow-up shepherding visit to a group of seeking believers in Mathura who came to fellowship with us through their reading and enjoyment of the ministry of the word in Hindi.

This weekend, 11-13 September, we are visiting and fellowshiping with them.  

Pray that God would open to us a door for the word, to *speak the mystery of Christ*.

Pray that the Lord would shepherd them into the rich enjoyment of Christ as the unsearchable riches and be fully recovered for the Lord’s testimony in Mathura, UP.

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Facts about Mathura

Mathura is a sacred city in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. It is believed to be the birthplace of an important deity in the Hindu religious pantheon. It is an important pilgrim place of the Hindus and one of the seven sacred cities in India.

It is about 50 kms from Taj Mahal in Agra.

 

Follow-up Shepherding Visit to Mathura, UP

Dear Saints,

Thank you for your prayers!

The Lord has richly blessed the visit to Mathura in answer to the prayers of the Body. Since the time we arrived there, we enjoyed fellowshipping with the saints, sessions by sessions until midnight. Their hunger for the word of God had literally drawn out from our being the living waters. We simply followed the Spirit's flow and flowed along with it by ministering the word.

On the Lord's Day, about 70 saints gathered together for the meeting. As the Lord led, we ministered the word of God on God's plan, the redemption accomplished by Christ, the salvation we can enjoy by believing into His Name, the need for household salvation, and the need to grow in life through the word.

After the meeting, we fellowshipped with the leading brothers on some practical ways to enjoy the the Lord by calling upon the Lord’s name, pray-reading the word of God, and prophesying for the building up of the Body of Christ. We also introduced a practical way to be revived through the morning revival and also taught them some hymns in Hindi for their spiritual enjoyment.

Having thus released the burden for this time, we commit them to the word of God's grace that can build them up and left to be visited again soon.

Acts 20:32

And now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified. 

Prayer Burden

Please continue to pray for the brothers and sisters in Mathura for their daily enjoyment of the Lord and growth in life unto the full recovery of the Lord's testimony. Amen.

As a result of God's people seeking His direction and presence, there will be victory over the enemy, the building up of the Body of Christ, and the spread of His kingdom. 

Lord, preserve me in Your will and in Your presence all the time for Your divine purpose on this earth.

Let Us Consider One Another

Today morning I was led by the Lord to write a message to all my classmates of the 1994 batch concerning caring for one another. This burden was born from the time the group was created where the majority are atleast confessing Christians. The Lord burdened me to pray for them and also consider supplying them with the wrod of God. But for this, I need to "break the ice" first. Therefore, I wrote this message as an opening to start sharing the word of God with the group daily, besides my own testiomny that I shared as my first two days ago.

And let us consider one another so as to incite one another to love and good works. Hebrews 10:24

Dear Friends, 

Let us consider one another. The Lord has sovereignly brought us together, virtually for now, with a purpose. Let us make use of this to care and pray for, and build up one another.

1 Corinthians 10:23-24

All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable; all things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own profit, but that of the other.

With this burden, we all can share and fellowshipping in mutuality. I will also participate in posting series of Word study on Life Lessons which, I believe, will be a blessing to all. 

Whatever our situation may be, physically, spiritually, or professionally, we all need God. This Life Lessons will be a confirmation of faith to those who believes and an affirmation of the truths to those who still doubt.

I am NOT a "teacher/preacher/counselor", but as a friend and a brother, I am burdened and pleased to consider matters together with you. We can learn from one another. I am open for any fellowship openly in the group or personally, if anyone wish to, with the sole burden of building up one another.

May the Lord bless our life-journey together. Let us consider one another.

Much grace to us all. Amen.

Once I posted this message and a good number of members responded positively, I have the freedom in my spirit to start posting excerpts from the ministry materials as a spiritual supply. The Lord has indeed opened a new door for the ministry of the word. Praise the Lord! 

I should simply be like a farmer sowing seeds faithfully and waiting for the harvest patiently. He who sows also shall surely reap. With this faith, I begin my virtual ministry of the word with this new group. May the Lord shepherd His children and gain them for his testimony. 

Lesson from Vaccination

Since the outbreak of Coronavirus and the following vaccination drive, there have been many opposing theories floating around in the media and news channels about the pros and cons of the vaccine. Some sections of Christian were opposing it to the core to the point of stating that it was "the mark of the beast-666" and that whoever got vaccinated would die very soon. Yet, on the other hand, there has been a vaccination drive to fight the spread of the pandemic.  Even among Christians, some were for it for health's sake, and some still oppose it tooth and nail. 

I have been waiting and observing the situation and decided to take a neutral view. But in fellowship, a brother fellowship to us of getting vaccinated citing historical facts of how vaccines help in fighting diseases. Eventually, those who opposed the vaccine died due to the pandemic in the past. That was the first time my view started changing. Later, a brother with whom I am coordinating closely in the literature service also fellowship about the need for vaccination. He even told that he already got vaccinated. Still, I decide to wait. 

Last week, the Lord's leading was for me to go to Mathura for a follow-up shepherding. For this, I urgently need to be vaccinated. Otherwise, traveling was not safe nor was it adviseable as I would be using public transport and meeting a lot of people. Therefore, I felt it was time to get vaccinated. Besides, an important proofreading project of the New Testament is being scheduled for December end of this year. For that, I need to be vaccinated with two doses. To be able to get the two doses in time, I must get the first dose now. Therefore, I felt it right to get vaccinated, and I got my first vaccination done, Covishiled, at a private hospital with a price more than double of what I heard. Anyway, I needed it, and I paid for it even at a high price.

The brothers' fellowship and the need for my service have confirmed the need for my vaccination. I am glad the Lord taught me a lesson; to listen to the brothers' fellowship even in health matters as this, and not to pay heed to all the assumptions and rumors. In fact, on the contrary, those who oppose the vaccine as the number of beasts are actually deceived by the beast himself not to get vaccinated so that they would even suffer and die of the pandemic prematurely.  

By the Lord's covering grace, I have had no health issues even after the vaccination. Rather, I am mentally, physically, and spiritually prepared to travel for the Lord's ministry.

A Brother's Consecration

A couple of days ago, I received a message about the health condition of a brother and a friend. In fact, he is one of the many instrumental in leading me to the Lord. When it came to my notice of his sickness as he texted me privately, I called him and prayed for him that the Lord would heal him and lead him to gain Him through every circumstance. 

Tonight, when I called him to find out how he was doing, he replied he has gotten much better and has just been discharged. He then poured out his heart to me of what all the Lord has done in the past few days. Paraphrasing what he spoke over the phone to me is this message:

Brother, from the time you called me and prayed for me, the Lord gave me wisdom to choose where I should be treated. I had been sick for ten days and did not eat food. I became so weak to the point of death. Had I gone to any other hospital I would have been treated as a Covid patient and I would have even died. But the Lord gave me wisdom from the prayer you prayed, and I decided to go to a particular Christian clinic where a Christian doctor carefully treated me. After different tests, I was diognised with Typhoid and thereby, the proper treatment was done.

While in the hosptial bed, I cried out to God asking why I could not eat and drink when He gave me mouth. The Lord answered my prayer;  I become very hungry in the middle of the night and was fed by the nurse attending me with water and biscuits. Since then, my appetiete was recovered. From that time on, I recovered speedily and now I am discharged. It was all the grace of God. I was almost death and the Lord saved me!

Brother I want to give my whole life to serve the Lord in the "recovery" along with you. The light and revelation the Lord gave to Brother Watchman Nee and Witness were marvelous, I also want to follow the Lord's leading. From now on, my life is to live Christ. Brother, please gift me a copy of the Holy Bible, Recovery Version. I want to study the word day and night and serve teh Lord togheter with you. 

Then, I prayed to thank the Lord for His healing and for recovering my brother. He then followed me in prayer and cried out, consecrating his life to serve the Lord.

Well, these are the crucial points I remembered though he mentioned so many other things in his speech and in his prayer. But the main burden was that he consecrated himself to the Lord to serve Him in whichever way the Lord pleases to use him. I am glad to be able to pray with a beloved brother and to be able to serve the Lord together in one accord for the Lord's testimony.

May the Lord honor his consecration and remember all his prayer and his words of promises. So that, one day we can serve the Lord together and take the stand in oneness for the Lord's testimony. 

Gospel Friend: A Business Client

A business employee, whose client I have been for years, called me yesterday requesting for an appointment today. I actually thought he really wanted business from me in printing Bibles, Calendar, and books. He did show up in time as he promised. We did discuss business matters yet I made it clear that it all depends on their pricing and service. I did not want to give any false hope and promise.

As we were discussing business I gradually turned the topic to the importance of life. I went on explaining the meaning of human life. As I spoke I sensed the Holy Spirit moving and anointing me to preach the gospel with all boldness. Despite being a Brahmin Hindu, he listened to the gospel with rapt attention with much seeking heart. Whenever certain sentences I spoke touched him, he would fold his hand and do a "namaste" to me. The Spirit's anointing was so rich that I expounded who the living God is, who has incarnated to be the God-man Jesus Christ, and who passed through death and resurrection to become the life-giving Spirit, who can be believed into and received into man's human spirit. As I preached and preached, he received all that I spoke and believed in it. The word he heard produced faith in him to believe. Then, I felt the need to lead him to prayer, which I did so and he willing prayed the sinner's prayer to believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as his God and Savior.

In between the gospel preaching he received the word with "namastes" now and then. After I released my burden in gospel preaching and prayer, he testified that he was so full of peace as he sat and listened to the gospel. He even proclaimed, "Sir, whenever I come and meet you, I was always full of peace. Can I come to meet you now and then?" I replied, "Sure, you are welcome whenever you wish to come." He then replied back, "Sir, I will come to meet you at least once in a month." 

I did not expect that this business meeting would turn out to be a gospel meeting. Thank the Lord, He has prepared His seekers for His testimony even among the religious North Indian Brahmins!

May the Lord save him as he willingly prayed in the Lord Jesus' Name.