Ministry of the Word to Narwana, Santosh Majra, and Rajound

Narwana

In Narwana, a brother and his family gave us hospitality in their home. In fact, he happened to be the President of the Pastors’ Association and had invited a group of key Christian leaders with their spouses to hear us out. As they were gathered together, the Lord led us to minister on one of the high-peak truths, God becoming man to make man God in life and nature but not in the Godhead. They all marveled at this simple yet basic truth in the Bible and wondered how it had been hidden from them for so many years. They were so nourished with the truth that they received the free ministry books and also purchased the title books. They even requested us to visit them again as they wanted more Christian leaders and believers to hear what they had just heard. 

The next day morning, we were invited for a fellowship over breakfast at a Pastor's home. This Pastor was so impressed by the ministry books that he purchased the entire set of Hindi books. Though he could hardly read and understand English, after listening to our introduction of the Holy Bible Recovery Version, he still purchased it as he could not wait for the Hindi New Testament Recovery Version. Likewise, almost all the Hindi seekers we met, requested the Hindi Recovery Version. 

By the way, this couple has been barren for many years, and from their sharing, we could easily make out that they were very desperate for a child. To them, I shared that bearing children is all up to the Lord and I shared my testimony of how the Lord blessed me with three children when I expected none. We then prayed for them and left for another Pastor's home.

This other Pastor invited us to at least pray for this family and the ministry he has been carrying out. Except for prayer, I literally had nothing else to say as I sensed that he seemed to be more inclined towards receiving financial help rather than a genuine brotherly fellowship. In fact, I do not entertain Christian workers narrating to me about their plans and needs to meet their goals. To me, things are very straightforward. If the Lord leads you for a thing, He will also provide the means to accomplish that thing. Otherwise, it is best to reconsider, as it might be man's own plan.

 
Then we met another believer's family who requested prayer for their family's well-being, for which we obliged too. But I let the brothers with me do the prayers in Hindi and I simply stood by them amening their prayers.

Santosh Majra
This village is special in that it has the majority of the villagers as Christian at least in names, due to the British stationed in this village before they left India. Yet, there is a spiritual drought among the Christians. A Pastor's family welcomed us and prepared a sumptuous lunch for us. But we wasted no time and introduced the ministry books directly. Even before we met them, through word of mouth from their relatives, they heard about us and had already decided to purchase the entire set of ministry books in Hindi. After the lunch fellowship, we went further to meet another seeker in Rajound, a few kilometers away from the village.

Rajound
A Pastor and his wife came to meet us in one of the believer's home. As we fellowship with him, he also seemed to be distracted in his own plan in the name of serving the Lord. Though his reasons were sound, I hope that they follow the Lord's leading in every step of their lives. May the ministry books they received be a rescue to them from all forms of distraction.

Lord, gain Your testimony in these localities!

Ministry of the Word to Dadri, Julana, and Jind

For the month of September, the plan was to go to Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, and all preparations including ticket booking were done for the ministry of the word literature journey. However, a few days before we set out, the key brother in Aligarh called to inform me that his daughter had a complication in her childbirth and that he needed to take care of her urgently. Therefore, the plan was abruptly canceled. I just took that as from the Lord and also fellowshipped with my coordinating brother. 

This sudden change of plan was rather shocking to me and I considered before the Lord carefully what the Lord wanted to do this time. Later, the Lord gave me a feeling to call a brother in Haryana whom we met last April. The moment I called him and enquired about the possibility of visiting him and his locality for the ministry books distribution, he was very positive and requested that we visit him but that he would also confirm with other brothers. When I called him he was about to leave for a meeting and promptly replied that he would discuss the matter with his coworkers as well. The following day, he called and confirmed and asked me to come. His call was like a "Macedonian Call." Therefore, I updated the brothers saying,"Our initial plan was to go to Uttar Pradesh. But at the last minute, we had to change the plan and go to Haryana instead. Then, we realized it was the Lord's specific leading at this time for this state."

And when they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, 

yet the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. And bypassing Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul during the night: A certain man, a Macedonian, was standing and entreating him and saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us. And when he had seen the vision, we immediately endeavored to go forth into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to announce the gospel to them. Acts 16:7-10

The Lord’s Specific Leading

From 8th to 12th September, city by city, locality by locality, we witnessed and enjoyed the Lord’s leading again. He prepared the right people at the right place and at the right time to whom we could introduce and distribute the ministry literature and also minister the timely word of God. Though we set out to visit only six cities, the Lord led us to fourteen localities! This was the fulfillment of the "Macedonian(Haryanvi-Punjabi) Call" in Acts 16:7-10 we received on 8th Sept before we set out for this ministry of the word literature journey.

Dadri

The key Pastor whom we met in April 2023 and who also purchased the entire set of ministry books in Hindi had gathered together the key Christian leaders in Dadri. Since he appreciated the truth so much, he himself promoted the ministry books to other Christian leaders. We conducted a mini-conference for all these leaders and presented the truth using the ministry books we introduced and distributed. I ministered the present speaking of the Lord to me from my Bible reading portion that morning on faith growing, love growing, and the facing of persecution and afflictions which made us worthy of the kingdom of God. 

We ought to thank God always concerning you, brothers, even as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly and the love of each one of you all to one another is increasing, So that we ourselves boast in you among the churches of God concerning your endurance and faith in all your persecutions and the afflictions which you bear, A plain indication of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be accounted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which also you suffer; 2 Thessalonians 1:2-5

The key Pastor himself made arrangements for such a meeting in a few other districts of Haryana, leading to more doors being opened for the spread of the ministry!

Julana

As directed by the Pastor in Dadri, we went to Julana and shared the word of God with a group of believers, mostly sisters, on eating, drinking, and breathing the Lord with an emphasis on calling upon the Lord's Name, which we also all called together out loud. Then, we introduced the ministry books to all the believers. Later, another group of pastors came and to them too we introduced the ministry books. These brothers had wanted to know our belief concerning the Trinity, therefore, I spent some time explaining to them the truth concerning the Triune God.

Jind

On our way to the night halt at Narwana, we passed by Jind and met with a Pastor. Though he was not very interested in the ministry books we presented, he was very interested in us and requested that we conduct one training for all his Bible school students whom he gathered from different parts of the state, and many of those were not very educated. We only told him that if such a plan is there we can consider it based on the time and our availability.  We leave the matter to the Lord if He so leads.

Lord, gain Dadri, Julana, and Jind for Your testimony!

Gospel Preaching

The Lord in His mercy has revived in me the spirit of gospel preaching. For the past couple of weeks, I was not able to preach the gospel as I ought to. Either there were some church meetings or fellowship or training, or I was traveling, but somehow the gospel preaching on Saturdays was not carried out. Deep within me, I knew I was lacking in life as I also had many weaknesses spiritually. But I decided that at least once a week I must preach the gospel, no matter what.

Last Saturday afternoon, the Lord graced me to go out with a brother to preach the gospel. Due to the security personnel standing in every corner of the shopping plaza we went to preach the gospel to, we were not able to meet people openly to preach the gospel. After two rounds of walking, we changed the areas and went toward a metro station. As we went, we met people along the way and were able to preach the gospel. It was so encouraging that when we went out, the Lord also prepared people to meet us at a specific location and at a specific time.

Last Lord's Day afternoon, as the church we all went to preach the gospel at DLF-3 U Block where many young working people have their residences. On the street, we went to meet people and preached the gospel to whoever would listen to us. In this way, a brother and I were able to preach the gospel to seven people solidly. Our approach this time was a little different from all the previous ways. This time, we did not distribute tracts freely as we used to do so before. The political and social environment has changed. Therefore, we were advised not to openly distribute tracts. But we can meet people, and only those who are open to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can continue to meet them and set up a home meeting with them.

In the last weekend's gospel preaching, the Lord led me to preach the gospel to a mechanical engineer, software engineer, airforce officer, restaurant manager, housekeeper, and laborer.  At least these ones have heard the gospel! May the word of the Lord Jesus Christ sown as the gospel seed of divine life sprout and grow!

In fact, in the past too, I have preached the gospel to so many people. But I need to overcome the matter of following them up regularly. I am weak in following the ones I preached the gospel to. Though they received, believed, and called upon the Lord's name, I was not able to continue shepherding them. Many of them have been lost in this way. Nevertheless, I will continue to preach the gospel in obedience to the great commission.

Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19

Shepherd According to God

Shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion but willingly, according to God… 1 Pet.5:2

Shepherding according to God is one of the high peaks of the divine revelation. Recently, I enjoyed this truth in the semiannual video training. I am familiar with the term shepherding. In fact, I have also been doing my best to shepherd the saints and the new ones. Though I may not be up to the standard as revealed in the Bible, still I did my best, according to me so far. But this time the truth is, shepherding according to God, not according to me. I have been shepherding according to myself, in the way I felt best. That kind of shepherding has been very short and limited. Because it was all according to me if I like it I shepherd, and if I don't like it I don't shepherd. I have been revolutionized in my understanding of shepherding. I must be one with God and shepherd according to God.

Those who shepherd the flock of God should shepherd according to God. To shepherd according to God is to shepherd according to God’s nature, desire, way, and glory, not according to our preference, interest, purpose, and disposition. According to God in 1 Peter 5:2 means that we live God. In order to shepherd according to God, we need to become God in life, nature, expression, and function but not in the Godhead. We need to become God in His attributes of love, light, righteousness, and holiness. We need to become God in His function of shepherding the flock of God according to what He is. If we would shepherd according to God, we need to become one with God—John 14:20; 1 Cor. 6:17. When we are one with God, we become God in life and nature and are God in our shepherding of others.

After enjoying the message on shepherding, the Lord also led me to shepherd some saints in line with being "according to God." This Monday night, with my wife and another sister, we went to visit a new one's family. Though the traffic was bad and we needed to spend time and energy, the visit was worth it. Initially, I wanted to bring along another Hindi-speaking brother as I was not fluent in speaking Hindi. But when we were at the new ones' home, the Lord gave me the utterance. Perhaps, first time in my life, I was able to speak Hindi, shepherding a Hindi-speaking family without any need for translation. As I fellowship with the new ones, the Lord gave me the utterances. The words just came and I was able to speak the truth in Hindi!

The new ones truly enjoyed the meeting that the key member of the family, the father of the household, went on to enjoy two messages from the Shepherding Materials, besides quoting a couple of other Bible verses he has been enjoying. They all understood the truth messages we pursued together in addition to all the fellowship we had and the hymn we sang. The new ones were so shepherded that they even opened up about their concerns and clarified some of their doubts. In fellowship, we were able to clear all their doubts and concerns. After such a cherishing and nourishing shepherding, they decided to come to the Lord's table meeting regularly and also requested a regular home meeting every Monday night.

Another family who I have been graced to shepherd was visited last Saturday. I myself with two other couples in the church visit this family. Our shepherding visit cherished them so much so that they finally took the decision to start coming to the Lord's table meeting regularly which they wanted to do so even in the past. Another step of shepherding in the Body was needed to make this practical. I have also been enjoying the morning revival together with this brother.

Another young brother has been in touch with me. Whenever he calls and visits me, we fellowship at length concerning spiritual matters and his personal matters too. I am learning to shepherd him according to God by turning to the Lord concerning how to shepherd him. Each person I have been graced to shepherd has been different. Only by being one with the Lord, can such shepherding be carried out.

Similar shepherding is going on with my niece. Now we have mutually agreed to spend time once a month, to have an all-inclusive fellowship on whatever is the need. In this way, the Lord has been leading me to shepherd according to God. These ones and a few other saints are under shepherding. All shepherding will gradually be according to God.

Lord, shepherd me according to You and gain me to be one with You that I can shepherd according to You.

Rhema Washing

“O you who dwell in the gardens, My companions listen for your voice; Let me hear it. Make haste, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young hart upon the mountains of spices.” (Song of Solomon 8:13-14, RecVer)

The Lord has revealed the high-peak truth to us in His recovery. Our attitude must be to open to Him and hear His voice. Our prayer should be, "Lord, let me hear Your voice." And we must have a desire for the Lord’s coming again. We must pay heed to the present truth, pursue, study, be constituted with, and present the present truth to the saints and even the new ones. This is the kind of person I should be today, living in this age; pursuing the truth, being constituted with the present truth, and presenting the present truth to the saints.

“Therefore I will be ready always to remind you concerning these things, even though you know them and have been established in the present truth.” (2 Peter 1:12, RecVer)

The apostles were rejoicing in the fact that the brothers were walking in the truth. So must I be. But for this, the brothers must know the present truth that they can walk in.

“For I rejoiced greatly at the brothers’ coming and testifying to your steadfastness in the truth, even as you walk in truth.” (3 John 3, RecVer)

Walking in the truth definitely requires one to experience the truth. The knowing of the word in its logos must be followed by the experience of the word in its rhema. I was freshly enlightened to see how the Lord carries out the washing in our inward being in addition to making us know His truth. 

That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word. Ephesians 5:26

Water: Water here refers to the flowing life of God typified by flowing water (Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4; John 7:37-39; Rev. 7:17; 21:6; 22:1, 17).

Washing: The Greek word for washing in Ephesians 5:26 is literally laver; in the Old Testament the priests used the laver to wash away their earthly defilement (Exo. 30:18-21); day by day, morning and evening. Therefore, we need to come to the Bible and be cleansed by the laver of the water in the word.

Word: The Greek word is rhema with its washing process (Eph. 5:26).

The washing here can be compared with the washing by the priest in the Old Testament at the brazen laver which is different from the altar where there was the shedding of the blood of the sacrifices. The altar signifies the cross of Christ where blood was shed for redemption. We apply this today for the cleansing of the sins we have committed. The laver signifies the water that flowed out of the Lord's pierced side for the supplying of the divine life that washes our defilement as a result of our contact with the world, of our flesh, self, old man, and the natural life.

Today, Christ as the life-giving Spirit sanctifies us by cleansing us according to the washing of the water in the word. We are now in such a washing process in order that we, the church, may be holy and without blemish. For this to be real in our experiences, we must come to the Lord through His word and long for His instant speaking. It is only His instant and living speaking that actually works in our being and makes us grow in life.

The important thing for each one of us is this—is God speaking His word to me today?—Rev. 2:7; 1 Sam. 3:1, 21; Amos 3:7. One thing that we always treasure is that the Lord still speaks to us personally and directly today; true growth in life depends upon our receiving the word directly from God; only His speaking in us has true spiritual value—Heb. 3:7-11, 15; 4:7; Psa. 95:7-8. The central point of our prayers should be our longing for the Lord’s speaking, which enables us to fulfill the goal of His eternal economy according to His heart’s desire to have His divine sonship—Luke 1:38; 10:38-42; Eph. 1:5. In a very practical sense, the Lord’s presence is one with His speaking; whenever He speaks, we realize His presence within us; Christ’s speaking is the very presence of the life-giving Spirit— cf. Exo. 33:12-17; Heb. 11:8. Excerpt from HWMR An Overview of the Central Burden and Present Truth of the Lord’s Recovery before His  Appearing, msg 1.

As I shared this burden of experiencing the washing of the water in the word in line with listening to His words day by day, all the saints and I myself were so nourished with His living words. May the Lord grace us to be poor in spirit, to open our mouth wide that He can fill us and that we can receive His present speaking through His rhema word that we are washed and cleansed to grow in life unto full maturity to become the same as He in life and nature but not in Godhead. This is the rhema washing that we need daily. And it is this rhema washing that can fulfill God's eternal economy.

Lord, sanctify us by the washing of the water in the word daily!

Dressing: Trim and Fill

The vision of Christ as the Son of Man walking amidst the seven golden lampstands to dress the lamps has been quite a revelation the past week. I was enlightened to see the need for the Lord to dress the lamps daily. In Exodus, the high priest dresses the lamps daily to make sure the lamps burn brightly. In dressing the lamps two things are involved. Negatively, to cut the blackened and charred wick that had burnt out. Positively, to fill the cup of the lamps with fresh oil. Cutting and filing are the two necessary steps in dressing the lamps. This simple vision was enlightening to me. Dressing the lamps has become my daily prayer these days. I have been praying to the Lord to dress me daily. For I am too conscious of the burnt and charred wick in me, my flesh, my natural man, my self, and the things of the world surrounding me, needs to be cut by my experiences of the cross of Christ. Then, I need the filling of the oil, the Holy Spirit day by day to supply the wick with fresh oil to continue the burning of the lamps to give forth shining light. What a revelation!

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. Rev. 1-12-13

And Aaron shall burn on it fragrant incense; every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it. Exo. 30:7

Then I answered and said to him, What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left? And I answered a second time and said to him, What are the two olive branches that are by the side of the two golden spouts, which empty the gold from themselves? And he spoke to me, saying, Do you not know what these are? And I said, No, sir. And he said, These are the two sons of oil, who stand by the Lord of the whole earth. Zech. 4:11-14

Christ takes care of the churches as the lampstands in His humanity as the Son of Man to cherish them. Christ as our High Priest takes care of the churches that He has established first in His humanity to cherish the churches, to make the churches happy, pleasant, and comfortable., He does this by dressing the lamps of the lampstand. The high priest in the Old Testament dressed the lamps of the lampstands every morning, Exo. 30:7. To dress the lamps is, to make them proper., Christ cares for the lampstands by trimming the wicks of, the lamps of the lampstand, just as the priest did according, to the type in the Old Testament, Exo. 25:38. When the wick, was burned out, it became charred and black, so the priest, had to come to cut off the black part of the wick. This is what, it means to snuff the wick so that the lamp may shine better., The charred part of the wick, the snuff, signifies things that, are not according to God’s purpose which need to be cut off, such as our flesh, our natural man, our self, and our old creation…, A church with charred wicks will not feel comfortable. As the walking Christ, He gets to know the condition of each church, and as the speaking Spirit, He trims and fills the lampstands with fresh oil, the supply of the Spirit—2:1, 7; cf. Zech. 4:12-14. Excerpt from HWMR Knowing, Experiecning, and Living the All-inclusive Christ for the Genuine Church Life, msg 8.

Along with the revelation, the Lord also gave me experiences of being dressed by the Lord. He as the Shephered helped me to deal with myself. I did not try to deal my flesh with my flesh, I simply opened to the Lord to work Himself in me and did whatever I could to cooperate with Him in His move. This dealing will, perhaps, be an ongoing process. I look to the Lord for His grace that I can indeed be thoroughly dealt with, step by step, layer by layer until I am fully dealt with. Besides, I also pray for more of His Holy Spirit filling day by day, to always have the sufficient "fuel" to burn and shine forth the Lord Jesus Christ. This same truth and experiences I have been enjoying, I also shared with all the saints in the church in Gurugram on the Lord's Day during the prophesying meeting. What a supply from the Lord even while sharing this experience!

Lord, dress me daily; trim me of myself and fill me with Yourself.

Peace and Harmony

Prayer for peace in Manipur is our daily family prayer. Since the 3rd of May, Satan has been instigating different communities to hatred, violence, theft, killing, and murder. The intensity of the hatred is so much that nothing on earth can dose the burning flame of hatred. Try however much the government may, still they are in no way near to bringing peace to the state. Day by day, week by week, and now month by month, the fiery enmity is burning with higher intensity. Every little thing seems to act as an agent to pour more oil into the burning fire. Helpless the people are, and helpless the state machinery is. All efforts to call for peace were turned on deaf ears. Deep within, everyone wants peace, but no one has a solution, as to how to get that peace.

Only God is the God of peace! Only the true and living God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the God of peace. I find no solution to this conflict other than the gospel of peace, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the entire human history of mankind, only Jesus Christ, the very God incarnate, came and paid the price for peace at the cross. 

But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have become near in the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, He who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of partition, the enmity, abolishing in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, so making peace, and might reconcile both in one Body to God through the cross, having slain the enmity by it. And coming, He announced peace as the gospel to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near. Ephesians 2:13-17

I am very clear about the prayer I and my family have been praying daily. I cannot take sides with any of the warring communities. They both are God's creations and in both communities, there are children of God, brothers and sisters in the Lord. Though one community is majority Christian and the other majority Hindu, this is not a religious battle. Though one is tribal and the other plain people, this is not a community battle. Remember, they both are created by the same God. I had written on this line already.

My Goodland: Prayer: Manipur Mayhem (palmeichung.blogspot.com)

My Goodland: Manipur: Forgive Us As We Also Forgive (palmeichung.blogspot.com)

One important point to note is, in every warfare, the first thing to identify who the enemy is and what strategy to employ in the battle. Here, the enemy is neither of the community. The common enemy is Satan who is the mastermind of this ethnic clash. Therefore, the way to fight this battle is on our knees by praying to the God of peace.

“Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil, For our wrestling is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.” (Ephesians 6:11-12, RecVer)

“For though we walk in flesh, we do not war according to flesh; For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but powerful before God for the overthrowing of strongholds, as we overthrow reasonings and every high thing rising up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought unto the obedience of Christ.”

(2 Corinthians 10:3-5, RecVer)

We daily pray for:

The Christians to repent of their ways, not resort to human wisdom, but turn to the living God. When God chastised His people for their sins, the Israelites repented and returned to Jehovah, who in turn forgave them, restored them, and blessed them.

The Christians to be brought into oneness as the children of the same Father God, to leave all the divisive and doctrinal differences, tribalism, and be united in Christ for the reality of the one new man, the church, the Body of Christ, where Christ is all and in all.

The Christians to be revived in their Christian life and not live like the Gentiles.

The Non-Christians to see, know, and believe into the true and living God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Only in Jesus Christ is there salvation. What they need the most is eternal life, to believe into the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.

The leaders of the communities, civil societies, and state and central government, to have wisdom in making the right decision in a righteous manner conducive to the atmosphere of peace and harmony.

The God of peace, who is also love, light, and life to come in to dispense Himself into all the people of Manipur. Thereby, turning war into peace, hatred into love, darkness into light, and deadness into life. This God of peace, love, light, and life is the Lord Jesus Christ!

These have been our daily family prayers for peace and harmony in Manipur. I have full faith in God to answer these prayers and there will be a new beginning, for the people of all the communities, and for the Lord's move and His testimony. I have expressed my burden to the people I know, from both communities.

The Lord in His mercy has answered these prayers and we are to witness His wonderful and marvelous deeds unto His glory!