Life Lesson: Jonathan

Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a wonderful relationship with David to the point that his soul knit with him and even made a covenant with him because they loved one another. 

1S 18:1Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan became knit with the soul of David; and Jonathan loved him like his own soul.
1S 18:2And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house.
1S 18:3Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him like his own soul.
1S 18:4And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and he gave it to David, as well as his armor and even his sword and his bow and his belt.
1S 20:16So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, And Jehovah will require it at the hand of David’s enemies.
1S 20:17And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

This is a wonderful picture of a brotherly love that should be among the believers today. The Lord desires us to love one another and to even be willing to lay down our lives for our brothers.

Jn 13:34A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
Jn 13:35By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
Jn 15:12This is My commandment, that you love one another even as I have loved you.
Jn 15:17These things I command you that you may love one another.
Rm 12:10Love one another warmly in brotherly love; take the lead in showing honor one to another.
Rm 13:8Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves the other has fulfilled the law.
Rm 13:9For, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Rm 13:10Love does not work evil to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Jonathan loved David and stood for David when he discovered that his father Saul was envious of David and wanted to kill him. Jonathan stood between Saul and David and saved David's life when he was in a position to do so.

Jonathan also knew that one day David would be the king of Israel. He was also aware that the leading of God was with David. In fact, in his time, God's anointing was upon David; the minister of the age at that time was David, and Jonathan knew it.

1S 23:16Then Jonathan the son of Saul rose up and went to David at Horesh, and he strengthened his hand in God.
1S 23:17And he said to him, Do not be afraid, for the hand of Saul my father will not find you; and you will become king over Israel, and I will be second to you; and even Saul my father knows that.
1S 23:18And the two of them made a covenant before Jehovah. And David remained in Horesh, and Jonathan went to his house.

But Jonathan did not forsake his father Saul to follow David. Well, it was natural and logical for a son to follow in the footsteps of his father. But when one sees a vision of God's work and recognizes the minister of the age, one has to forsake the natural ties and relationship to be joined with the ones God has chosen to carry out His work at a particular time. Only in that way, blessed shall they be who follows the Lord's move in and through man. Later, Jonathan died with his father Saul in a battle against the Philistines and he had a tragic end. 

1S 31:2And the Philistines chased Saul and his sons; and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons.

Here is an important spiritual lesson to learn. First, we must love one another with divine love. But our love for one another should not be according to the natural relationship. If our natural inclination and relationship stand between us and God or in following what God is doing, we must learn to reject our natural relationship, forsake it all together and join ourselves to whom God has anointed. In other words, we must follow the minister of the age God has chosen and be one with such a one to be in God's move. Otherwise like Jonathan, we would miss being in the Lord's move while maintaining our natural relationship.

Mt 10:36And a man’s enemies will be those of his household.
Mt 10:37He who loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me;
Mt 10:38And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
Mt 10:39He who finds his soul-life shall lose it, and he who loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it.
Mt 10:40He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who has sent Me.

Oftentimes, the natural relationships can blind our spiritual sight to following the Lord or serving the Lord. We must pay heed to God's work in the present age and be one with whom the Lord has been carrying out His work in the present age. This requires one to see the vision of God's work in the present age and take up his cross to deal with natural relationships and hindrances to be absolute in following what the Lord has made known to us concerning His move.

Next Generation: Imitate the Faith

 “Remember the ones leading you, who have spoken to you the word of God; and considering the issue of their manner of life, imitate their faith.” (Hebrews 13:7, RecVer)

Footnotes from the Holy Bible, Recovery Version:

This is essential in the church life. The ministers of the word of God should have a manner of life that issues in an example of faith for the church members, the receivers of the word of God, to imitate. Then the church members not only will receive the word that the ministers minister but also will imitate the ministers’ faith, which is expressed in their manner of life. Verse 7 is a continuation of vv. 5-6. Manner of life must refer to the living and behavior pursued by those ministers of the word of God, in which they had no love of money and were satisfied with what they had (v. 5a). Their faith must refer to the fact that they trusted in the Lord, their Helper, for their living (vv. 5b-6). The word that they ministered and the life that they lived must have been entirely Christ, and their faith must have been the faith in Christ, of which Christ is both the Author and the Perfecter (12:2). Such a manner of life and such a faith were surely worthy to be imitated by the believers, who received the word of God that the ministers ministered and who considered the issue of their manner of life.

As the Lord has shown us the vision of God's economy, we must also lead our next generation to see the same vision. Better would be that they see and also live, walk, and work according to the vision. Two examples in the Bible are worth considering. Eli failed to discipline his children and loosely handled his priestly service which resulted in his degradation and his sons not seeing the vision he had seen. Samuel too, in spite of being a Nazarite, priest, prophet, judge, and a man of prayer had failed in appointing his two sons as judges. Here is a holy warning to take care of our lives that our next generation can see, appreciate, and follow. 

The great question now is: Can our next generation imitate us positively? This is an examination of our spiritual lives and services today. If our lives are normal, we will take care of our children, it does not need any reminder. Similarly, if our spiritual lives are normal we will take care of our spiritual offspring. Life is taken care of by God for the next generation, physically and spiritually. If we serve the Lord and do not raise up spiritual offspring, it is a matter of great concern in our service.

We ourselves should be a pattern to our next generation both physically and spiritually.  "Remember the ones leading you," can our spiritual offspring seriously consider this verse regarding us? Can this verse "considering the issue of their manner of life, imitate their faith" be applied to us? So the onus is on us today. What we are will be what our offspring will become. This brings us to the need for a proper God-man living. 

“And when Abram heard that his brother had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, and pursued as far as Dan.” (Genesis 14:14, RecVer)

Where are my 318 men born in my house? There must be many spiritual children begotten and raised up in the church life who could fight the spiritual battle, perhaps one against thousands. This is a matter of raising up the next generation who can imitate our faith.

For our next generation to be able to imitate our faith and manner of life, we also have to imitate the faith and manner of life of the generation who is before us. Thank the Lord for the many God-men who have set up a pattern in the church life. I must be faithful to imitate their faith and learn from the manner of their living. Blessed shall we be if we learn to follow the footstep of our spiritual fathers. Therefore, this verse on imitating the faith could be applied to us and the generation to follow us.

Ministry of the Word: Bharatpur and Gatholi

Bharatpur is a town in Rajasthan bordering Uttar Pradesh. The brothers in Mathura and these brothers in Bharatpur were once together in the same Christian group. But due to some reasons, they all broke away from the "parent" group and formed their own independent groups. This group was run by a group of four brothers who claimed to have about 35,000 believers with them as they conduct public meetings in different parts of North India. To this group, the Lord has led us.

In fact, the way we came to this place was quite unexpected. As it was about 35 kilometers away from Mathura and none of the brothers in Mathura nor the brothers with me knew driving four-wheelers, I had no option but to drive. I generally do not drive others' vehicles other than my own except for emergencies or is really needed to drive. Therefore, it was a new experience for me to drive to a new place, that too, to visit a group of believers in Bharatpur.

Initially, we shared testimonies and ministered on some basic exercises of the spirit by calling upon the Lord's name. When it was my turn to speak, the Lord gave me the burden to expound on the church and the building up of the church as found in the Bible, starting from Matthew 16:18, 18:17, the to Acts 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, and some epistles. I did not prepare to speak this way, but it was the timely word the Lord gave to these brothers who needed to hear the truth concerning what the church truly is according to the Bible, what the locality of the church should be, and the need for oneness for the building up of the Body of Christ.

Then, I introduced the ministry literature as a means to help one understand the word of God with proper interpretation. They all received the free Rhema books, and the key brothers also decided to purchase the entire set of Hindi books. Therefore, all the books I took were delivered to them. I believe the Lord has spoken His heart's desire to this group of brothers who are also serving the Lord. May the Lord work in them through His words spoken and through the printed ministry books to open their eyes and see God's heart's desire concerning the church. I do believe, one day, the Lord will recover His testimony in Bharatpur.

Later, we drove to Gatholi, on the side of Uttar Pradesh, to meet with a group of believers whose leading brothers are also enjoying the ministry of the word now through the brothers in Mathura. There too, we ministered the word on basic spiritual exercises in addition to the testimonies of two brothers. When my turn came to speak, the Lord burdened me to speak on baptism. I didn't know why I had to minister on baptism. I generally never did a ministry on baptism in a public gathering except in a gospel meeting or home meeting or to new ones when we were burdened to baptize new believers. But the Lord knew why. I faithfully ministered on the seven significances of baptism, with Bible verses, point by point, explaining to all the saints and seekers.

The following day in Mathura, when the meeting was full of spirit and new believers decided to take baptism, the leading brothers who listened to the ministry on baptism the other day knew exactly what to do. It turned out that the burden for baptism was for the brothers who took the lead in the two localities, Mathura and Gatholi. Since they are the local brothers preaching the gospel to many new ones, they need to be equipped with the truths. It was for them, the word on baptism ministered. Along with this, I also expounded on the timeline between believing and baptism as seen in the Bible. We read about baptism in Acts 2, 8, and 16, with the emphasis on the word "immediately." This has been enlightening to the brothers as there has been a concept among many Christian leaders that they need to wait to observe the new believers if there were qualified to be baptized. Actually, according to Mark 16:16, the first verse I read in the meeting, followed by the baptism of Jesus and others in Acts, baptisms recorded in the Bible are all immediate. Any believer, a genuine believer, is qualified to be baptized.

May the Lord recover His lampstand in Gatholi soon!

Ministry of the Word: Mathura

After the serving ones training on the first weekend of May, I personally wanted not to travel anywhere due to the heatwave raging in North India. In fact, the temperature is increasing by the day from 40 degrees Celsius to 48 degrees Celcius as of today. A week ago even when the heat was 40 plus, I inwardly wish not to travel in this summer heat. But thank God for my brother who has the burden to make use of the days after the training!

On the first day of the training, I had a fellowship with my brother and gave him a proposal to go to Agra-Aligarh and other places or to Unao, as Pilibhit is not feasible then. Later in the evening, I tried calling up the contacts in these places, but to my surprise, one from Unao did not even bother to pick up the call. Whereas the one from Aligarh picked up the call but told me that he is quite busy this month and that he could make some arrangements in the latter part of the month, thus leaving me no other option. It seemed like all the doors were closed.

But on Friday night after I came back from the training, I went before the Lord desperately to listen to what God had to say about our planned trip with no destination. As I was praying, the Lord spoke to me stating that I simply need to fellowship with a brother who came from Mathura as we could not visit him and the believers yet, though we planned to.  The next day, Saturday, during the tea break, we were sitting together at a table where I proposed to the brother in Mathura how he felt if we were to visit Mathura and the nearby areas. His immediate response was with an exclamation, "Brother please come!" Then and there he made phone calls to his brothers, and other contacts near Mathura confirming our visit and made all arrangements. Then in a few minutes, everything was made ready.

Therefore, after the training, we booked a cab and traveled to Mathura on the 9th of May. The moment we arrived in Mathura, the five key brothers came together to fellowship with us. We fellowshipped at length on the ministry concerning Christ and the building up of the church. We also did a little inoculation work as one of the brothers was a little distracted by certain Christian teaching. So we emphasized the need to stay in the central line of God's economy and be one with Christ in building up His church today. The fellowship even extended till late at night with all the family members in the brother's house where we were given hospitality.

On the 11th of May, in the afternoon a gathering was arranged. As the believers and new ones gathered together, we felt best to lead them to enjoy the Lord in the way of calling, praying, and pray-reading.  I personally was burdened by the Lord to lead them to enjoy the Lord in hymn singing, so I taught them to sing three Hindi hymns; Glory, Glory to the Father; Christ Liveth in Me; and Father God Thou Art the Source of Life. With every hymn in Hindi, I led them to sing line by line and they followed me, and then we all sang together. All the saints and new ones exercised their spirits and also their voices to sing along with us. Therefore, we all enjoyed singing hymns. After every singing, there was a spontaneous declaration of the lines followed by prayers. In fact, we did not teach them this, but they have picked it up from the brother who came to join some of the meetings in Gurugram and New Delhi and also from the online meetings. 

Then, we ministered the word of God on loving the Lord, helping them to tell Him that we love Him. And the way to love the Lord practically is to love the word of God. Therefore, I emphasized the need to read the Bible every day, if possible, at least 2-3 chapters of the Old Testament and 1-2 chapters of the New Testament. In that way of reading, the entire Bible can be read through in a year. Then, I was burdened to lead them to pray-read the word of God. After explaining the biblical meaning of pray-reading, I chose John 6:63 and pray-read with all of them in Hindi. The word of God became so rich as we pray-read over this verse again and again. The saints and the seekers were all charged up spiritually. When the word filled them, the Spirt also filled them, for the Lord's words are spirit and are life.

Jn 6:63It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

After such an enjoyment of the word, we prayed and ended the meeting. But the saints and seekers were not leaving the meeting place. Then we were told that 10 new believers wanted to take water baptism. These ones were baptized on the rooftop of the brother's house. There was no gospel preaching specifically, there was no teaching on baptism, and there was no plan for such a baptism except for the two who wanted to be baptized from before, but the remaining eight were out of the Lord's move in and through the meeting. When the Lord is appreciated and enjoyed, the spirit is touched, thereby leading to salvation!

Now the believers in Mathura have been learning to practice the church life in the way of the Lord's recovery on their own initiative. I personally was surprised yet happy to notice that the leading brothers have truly learned from what they have seen being practiced in the church in Gurugram and New Delhi. The way of meeting, though outward, they find it best for the building up of the believers, with all exercising and speaking the word of God. The way the brother took good care of us also was a reflection of what he has seen and learned while he was given hospitality in Gurugram.

May the Lord preserve them, and perfect them for the proper practice of the church life in Mathura!. Praise the Lord!

Faith in God's Economy

After more than two full years of abstaining from public gatherings for training, on the last weekend of the last month, I attended a national level training. All the saints in NCR region came together to attend the training physical at the training center in Gurugram. It was a wonderful time of gathering together after having been starved from such a meeting due to the pandemic. Now that things have improved, our gathering has also gradually recovered.

The messages spoken in this training were the messages I have dived into during the International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones online meeting. But I did not get much from the online training. But this time, with all the saints together, with much exercises of the spirit for the Lord's speaking and also for our listening, every message was fresh and new to me. Besides, the atmosphere of the meeting played an important role in receiving the Lord's speaking. Through this recent training, I freshly appreciate the physical coming together of the saints for a meeting like this. Such a meeting cannot be replaced by an "online meeting." I feel online meeting has their own benefits but they cannot replace physical meetings at all.

Message by message the Lord unveiled the truth concerning God's economy in faith. I could see and understand the deeper meaning of faith which I have never seen or known before. My fresh appreciation for the ministry grew much more.  Some gleanings from the training:

Everything related to God and His economy is in faith. There is a need to see the vision of God's economy and for this, there is a need for one to be taken to the high mountain spiritually. 

God's economy is to dispense Himself in Christ into His chosen people, to produce the new creation, to conquer the destructive satanic chaos, to triumph in the constructive divine economy, and is being carried out by faith in (of) Christ in the organic union between God and us, the believers.

To sees this vision, there is a need to remove the veil; any veil, be it religious, human concept, or any satanic blinding. Then the light of God will shine, through which there will be the sight to see. And then the spirit of wisdom and revelation will enable us to apprehend the vision. The result of such seeing of God's economy makes our lives meaningful and purposeful, empowers us to boldly move forward, supports us, makes us endure all trials, preserves us, and brings us into the present move of the Lord.

To know and understand what faith is, we must also know what faith is NOT. Faith is not blind faith, it is not empty hope, nor a mere mental agreement or consent.

Faith is the facts of God becoming experiences to us. Faith is to amen the word of God. Faith is a spontaneous response to the Lord in our spirit; a response to the word of God. Faith is the substantiation of unseen divine things. Faith is an organic union with the Triune God Himself. 

By such a faith, the riches of God become our inheritance, then the victory over obstacles is real, and it also enables us to live a life filled with the Spirit inwardly and outwardly.

To have such a faith subjectively, we need the hearing of the word of God, the appreciation of the word of God, and the need to call upon His name and receive and accept Him. As a result, we will be joined to Him, partake of Him, and enjoy Him. 

This is the linking faith, that links us with God. The subjective way to stay in this linking is by calling upon Hisname, prying to Him, preay-reading His word, and musing upon His word.

One warning concerning faith is, not to have an evil heart of unbelief and not to live in the past nor in the future, but to live in the present.

Life Lesson: Abigail

 1S 25:3And the man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. And the woman had good discernment and was beautiful in appearance. But the man was hard, and he was evil in his doings; and he was a Calebite.

Abigail, a beautiful woman with good discernment, had a significant role in David's life and in the history of Israel. Today, she has become a type of warring church who followed Christ (David) in spiritual warfare.  Though her husband Nabal did not have the wisdom to discern who David was as God's anointed king of Israel and a very heartless man, she was the exact opposite of her husband. She undid whatever blunder her husband had committed drawing the wrath of David's anger who also should have had more self-control in dealing with a stranger when he himself had much endurance running for his life from Saul. In between these two men, one a worthless man, a fool, as his name is Nabal, and the other, David, the future king of Israel but had not checked his temper, she stood as a savior of her husband and her future husband to be. Her wise act in time saved both of her "husbands" the present and the future. She saved her husband Nabal and his whole household from being murdered coldblooded, and she also saved her future husband David from shedding more blood, perhaps, innocent blood. This fact is the testimony of David himself.

1S 25:32And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me.

1S 25:33And blessed be your discretion; and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from entering into bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.

Her timely action as recorded below is simply exemplary.

1S 25:18Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two skins of wine and five sheep ready dressed and five measures of parched grain and one hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and she put them on her donkeys.

1S 25:19And she said to her young men, Go on before me; I am coming right behind you. But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

1S 25:23And when Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from her donkey and fell on her face before David; and she bowed herself to the ground.

1S 25:24And she fell at his feet and said, Upon me alone, my lord, be this iniquity; and let your female servant speak in your hearing, and hear the words of your female servant.

1S 25:25May my lord not take this worthless man Nabal to heart. For as his name is, so he is: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I your female servant did not see my lord’s young men, whom you sent.

1S 25:26And now, my lord, as Jehovah lives and as your soul lives, since Jehovah has withheld you from entering into bloodshed and from avenging yourself by your own hand, now therefore let your enemies and those who seek harm against my lord be like Nabal.

1S 25:27And now this present which your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.

1S 25:28Please forgive the transgression of your female servant, for Jehovah will no doubt make a sure house for my lord, because my lord fights the battles of Jehovah; and no evil will be found in you throughout your days.

1S 25:31This will not be a qualm of conscience to you or a stumbling block in heart to my lord, that you shed blood without cause or that my lord has avenged himself. And when Jehovah has dealt well with my lord, may you remember your female servant.

Such a worthy woman with discernment and wisdom and who knew what to do at what time is indeed an example for many sisters today. In fact, Abigail typifies the church in her status as the wife of David following him in the war wherever David went. Because of her wisdom, she became a savior of both Nabal and David from murder and bloodshed. In fact, she took upon herself the blame for the mistake her husband had foolishly made, and she humbled herself before David appeasing him and gaining his favor. Such a woman surely capture the heart of David and she later became his wife.

1S 25:32And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me.

1S 25:33And blessed be your discretion; and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from entering into bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.

1S 25:42And Abigail hurried and rose up; and she rode on a donkey, with her five young women following her. And she went after the messengers of David, and she became his wife.

From then on Abigail as David's wife followed David wherever he went in the midst of the war. She is a type of warring church following Christ in the spiritual battle today. This typology also unveils the fact that as a suffering church, the believers today follow Christ and participate in His suffering for the building up of the Body of Christ, the church.   

Co 1:24 I now rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His Body, which is the church; 
Co 1:25 Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship of God, which was given to me for you, to complete the word of God.

Christian Seminar: Bareilly

The eyes of everyone wait for You, And You give them their food in due season. Psalms 145:15 

On 3rd May a one-day Christian seminar-cum-ministry books introduction and distribution were held in Bareilly. The burden for this was conceived in our first visit to Bareilly when our host initiated the talk on the possibility of conducting a one-day seminar. As he led us to meet different Christian brothers and sisters for the ministry literature introduction, he felt it would be best to conduct a one-day seminar and invite the many Christian leaders and seekers and release the burden in one go. Therefore, before we left the city we finalise the date for the 3rd of May which happened to be a national holiday.

As planned we conducted a one-day seminar. Though it was planned for fifty Christian leaders, about seventy-five turned up for the meeting. We introduced the ministry from the book The All-inclusive Christ and also ministered the truth concerning the way to build up the Body of Christ. Technically, the expenses were a little higher than we expected as we had to pay for the "chapel" and the dining hall we used, including the food for all attendees. But we were glad that the ministry has been introduced and many free Rhema sets were given out. It was like seeds sowing into the hearts of 75 people on that day and many more books were given to some of the leaders to pass it on to their congregation or the believers they are shepherding. Officially, our burden was released, but deep within I was not too joyful as there were unexpected higher expenses and the unexpected translator could not cope with the burden I released while I was ministering the word. I learned the lesson not to stick my hand into what had already been arranged and adjusted my speaking along with the situation. 

One important lesson I learned was never to interfere in the practical arrangement of things if the Lord had already made the arrangement. Actually, in the case of the translation, we had a brother who came along with us who could translate, but I thought it better to give an opportunity to some of the local believers. But in giving opportunity I had to sacrifice a proper translation work who would be one spirit with me. Though I was restrained very much in my speaking because of the lack of truth and exercise of the spirit of my translator, I exercised my spirit much more to accept the situation and go along with it.

Anyhow, the Lord opened the door for his children to receive the ministry of the word. We have done our best and we leave the rest to God. The seeds we have sown would one day bear forth fruit unto the raising up of the Lord's testimony in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.

Lord, we wait for Your time to raise up your testimony in Bareilly. Bless the seeds we have sown into the hearts of Your children.