Books for Africa

In the month of May this year, a brother serving in Africa enquired about buying ministry books from us. Since then we had been fellowshipping and exchanging mails back and forth. This was indeed the Lord’s provision for us for bulk sales of the Holy Bible we have in huge stock and also a good revenue for the company to meet an urgent need. From the day the order was proposed, I did my best to coordinate with the brother who placed the order and also with all my brothers who actually carried out the purchase order. It was was a two way coordination for me. In the process, I learned a lot in praying for the Lord to lead us in every practical step we took and also in all our coordination in every minute matter. This includes fellowshipping with the publisher of the ministry books for permission, which was the most important part of the deal. Then, selecting and negotiating with the printers and shippers, customs clearance agent, bank for transaction, and other practical matters. In this way, I learned many practical lessons in business. But above all, I enjoyed the Lord’s blessing in enabling me to experience Him as my wisdom. 

The order was placed on May this year and thr books actually were delivered on 10 Nov 2023. After seven months of processing the order which includes getting permission from the government authority for export, signing an agreement with our counterpart in Africa, and coordinating with the staffs of Indian customs clearance and African customs clearance agencies, the export was finally done. After this, there was the settling of inward remittance for the invoice payment, another banking process that took over a period of two months. All these official works were worth experiencing mostly for the sake of the ministry books distribution in Africa, especially in Kenya. 

Once the export of ministry books were done and received at its destination in Africa, I had the peace to utilise the sales amount to take care of urgent official need of our company. It was a very special arrangement by the Lord to rescue me from a monthly reminder from our bank for settling of an import bill which was actually paid for already, only that it did not go through outward remittance via our bank. I had been troubled by this repeated mail, but the Lord came in and rescued me out of this. He hid two birds with one stone while meeting the need for Africa He also met my official need in India.

I worship the Lord for His way of doing things. Praise the Lord!

May the Lord bless the sowing of the seed of the ministry of the word in Africa!

Be a Man-Child

“And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, for the accuser of our brothers has been cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death.” (Revelation of John 12:10-11, RecVer)

Last month, a brother called me up and requested if I could speak in an online meeting for seekers from Karnataka. As a matter of fact, when any brother gave me.an assignment I always said amen,  trusting in the Lord’s arrangement unless otherwise it was impossible for me to meet the request. But I never got time to prepare for the meeting due to my travel schedule and other responsibilities. But a few days before the actual meeting, I took time out to specifically pray for my preparation and also for the meting. As I prepared for the ministry of the word, I realised it was the timely word for me, first, to experience the truth. I really needed this very message.

A day before the actual meeting, we had a rehearsal and in that itself I realised the attack of the enemy right away. One of the points in the message was on overcoming the enemy. I applied that right away by declaring the victory of Christ. On the 19th Nov, when I ministered live too, my translator's network went bad and he dropped out. Nevertheless, the standby translator picked up immediately and the message was delivered without any hindrance. In fact, before the meeting too, I prayed and declared the victory of the Lord. Even in the morning Lord’s Table Meeting in the church in Gurugram, we enjoyed the victory of the Lord by declaring that Jesus is Lord and Christ is Victor! The meeting was high and we all enjoyed the victory of the Lord!

Satan's main job is to accuse the brothers before our God day and night. Of course, he will not blindly do that. He will pick up the failures and mistakes of the saints and blow it up repeatedly. But we must know how to deal with him and shut up his mouth by the blood of the Lamb. Not to give ground to Satan, any known sins must be confessed and the blood of Jesus applied. 

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin. If we say that we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:7-9, RecVer)

Once confession of sins is done, God is true to His word, the blood is Jesus cleanses us from every sin. This is a universal truth. Simply believe this fact and declare this fact! The blood of the Lamb of God is the basis of our victory! The blood of Jesus is the instrument to overcome Satan! Yes, he has been accusing us, but we can answer him by the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, that cleanses us from every sin (1 John 1:7). The precious blood is also the basis for our spiritual warfare. We must know the value of the blood in order to fight against Satan. This is the first basis for overcoming Satan.

Next, there must be the word of our testimony, the declaration by faith the facts of Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord! Christ is Victor! Jesus Christ is the King of kings and Lord of Lords! This is the way to put Satan to an open shame and gain the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ! This is the second basis for overcoming Satan.

Finally, we must not love our soul life even unto death. For this, there must be the denial of the self through the experience of the cross. Only the cross can deal with our natural man. Therefore, we must have this attitude of denying our soul-life daily and never living by him, much less trusting in him. The inner workings of the cross in us is to take away the things that are not from God. The attitude of the overcomer should be to give up everything for the Lord.

By these bases and attitude, all believers can be overcomers, the man-child, who can fulfill God’s purpose in representing and expressing God as revealed in Genesis 26:1.

“And she brought forth a son, a man-child, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.” (Revelation of John 12:5, RecVer)

Many saints were praying for the seekers' meeting, and a brother also particularly prayed for this meeting, in addition to my prayer. Therefore, I truly enjoyed the victory of the Lord and experienced the very message I ministered. I applied the blood of the Lamb by my own confession of my sins. I declared the victory of the Lord. And I denied myself by taking the cross. 

May all the brothers and sisters who were ministered to, be blessed with the word of the Lord. May the Lord gain all of us to be His overcomers to fulfill His heart's desire on the earth today!

Ministry of the Word to Koraput, Odisha

The first time we visited Odisha was in 2014 when we met seekers in Khariar Road, Koraput, and Jeypore. During that visit, one brother who had previously received the Rhema books was gained to translate the ministry books (Rhema Sets) into Odia and another brother volunteered to distribute the ministry books and became a distributor for a couple of years. After nine years, the ministry books in Odia was finally printed. These Odia booklets along with English ministry books were used for introducing the ministry to the Christian leaders and seekers in some select cities of Odisha. It was done so in coordination with the brothers in churches in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.  

Koraput 

The Lord us to introduce the ministry books and the Holy Bible Recovery Version to a seeking brother who happens to be a Bishop, President of Christian Pastors Association, and TV Preacher in Oriya. He first received the books by Watchman Nee in 1993. In 2015 he had a radical turn in his spiritual life, and since then he has been reading the ministry writings at www.ministrybooks.org, especially the Life-study of Romans and Philippians. He also listens to the Life-study Radio programs at www.lsmradio.com. Until we met him on 2nd Nov 2023 he thought he was the only one reading and enjoying the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee in India. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Living Stream Ministry for making the ministry materials available online. He also introduces and promotes the writings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee to other believers. Though he was a Bishop and a well known Christian leader and preacher in Christianity, he testified that we were the only people with whom he could enjoy a genuine brotherly fellowship with the flow of life. As he has been reconsidering his way of serving the Lord, the Lord led us to him at the right time. He openly confessed that he needed a change and frankly asked how he could take the way of the Lord’s recovery. In fact, the following week he visited the churches in Gurugram and New Delhi and fellowshipped with the brothers there. He testified that he was so joyful and richly supplied by the brothers’ fellowship, learned many new things, and requested for more fellowship in the coming days.

After the introduction of the ministry books and the Holy Bible Recovery Version to him, he was very impressed by the depth of the truth and he purchased the ministry books of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee and also promoted the Holy Bible Recovery Version to all who can read English in his congregation after the Lord’s Day meeting. He also received 12 boxes of free Oriya booklets from Rhema Literature Distributor for a further introduction and distribution among many Oriya speaking Christians in Koraput district.

The Lord opened the door for the ministering of the truth to the seeking believers in Koraput. The high peak truth of God’s economy was ministered during a time of fellowship with the key serving ones of the group. The speaking Spirit could freely speak the truth as they all were so hungry for the word of God. In hunger and thirst for the word of God, they opened their mouth wide and the Lord fed and filled them!

The Lord has opened a wide door for the distribution and spread of the ministry literature through this brother who himself has been shepherded by the ministry books. On the Lord’s day we ministered the word of God to the congregation of believers on the line of God's full salvation with testimonies of the experiences of God's sanctifying and transforming in a believers life. After the meeting, the leading brother introduced the Holy Bible Recovery Version and 25 of the believers who can read English placed order for the Bible! One believer was in tears as he saw for the first time brother Watchman Nee’s book in Odia language!

We were also taken to a nearby town Semiliguda where we were given the opportunity to minister the truth and distribute the ministry books to seekers, one evening.

A week later, this key brother came for a

church visit to Gurugram and New Delhi on the 12 November 2023. We had a wonderful time of fellowship with the brothers and he practically saw the church life he has read about in the ministry books. Even as I drove him to Delhi and back to Gurugram, I also fellowshipped with him many practical ways of living out the church life and narrated the  testimonies of a good number of brothers and sisters how they came to the church life. He was very much impressed by all the fellowships and testimonies. He told me that he would look forward to more fellowship in the future. And he would pray how the Lord would lead him to take further necessary step for the recovery of the Lord's testimony in his locality.

Lord, recover Your testimony in Koraput soon!

An Experience of Caesarea Philippi

“Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Who do men say that the Son of Man is? And they said, Some, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them, But you, who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in the heavens. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:13-18, RecVer)

In the first week of this month, a brother and I went to visit a brother in Koraput, Odisha who was introduced to me by another brother as lover of the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. As we were picked up by this brother from Jagdalpur airport, we briefly visited a family and then went to Koraput. As we drove, we could not have a face to face fellowship. So we were lodged in a hotel for the night and the next day we had a time of fellowship with the brother. 

We were driven to an outskirt of the city to the meeting hall and training center owned by the brother. It was on a beautiful valley facing a lush green mountain ranges. Under a clear sky amidst soft breeze of fresh air, we began our fellowship. It was outwardly a place like Caesarea Philippi and spiritually too, where we could fellowship at length concerning Christ and the church. 

The fellowship began by introducing the Holy Bible Recovery Version using verses to proof it's accuracy in translation and footnotes to assist in understanding important spiritual meanings. Then the fellowship went on to the truth concerning the church as revealed in the Bible and the practical church life. We also narrated how the Lord began the recovery of the normal and practical church life since Br. Watchman Nee's time that speard all over Siuth East Asia and further to the West, Europe, and all over the world through the ministry continued by Br. Witness Lee. We also gave some testimonies of the recovery of the church life in different parts of India. We all enjoyed the fellowship that lasted for over four and half hours. The experience was like that of the Lord and His disciples in Caesarea Philippi where the Lord unveiled Himself and His church. We could fellowship freely without any cloud veiling us and enjoyed the flow of life richly as we fellowshipped. In fact, as we finished our fellowship, we prayed together. Then the brother testifed that it was his first time in his Christian ministry that he enjoyed a true fellowship with genuine brothers with the rich flow of life.

Later in the evening, we had a time of fellowship with the key leading ones in the local church there. Since the leading brother had already taught the believers with the basic truth he learned online from the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, it was easier for us to minister the high peak truth. We freely and boldly ministered God’s economy of God becoming a man to man God in life and nature but not in the Godhead. To my surprise, they were all able to receive it without much hesitation or difficulty. Generally, we did not ministry the high peak truth at the first meeting. But with this group, the Lord led us to minister the deeper truth and they could receive it. Praise the Lord!

This was our experience and enjoyment of Caesarea Philippi in Koraput, Odisha. I do believe, the Lord is working on these one foe the recovery of His testimony in this city among the Oriya speaking brothers and sisters.

Lord, may you accomplish Your work of recovery that You started until Your testimony is fully recovered in this city and throughout the entire state of Odisha.

Fellowship: Critical and Crucial yet Comforting

Since the past few weeks, I have been experiencing a series of serious fellowship with a few brothers concerning their spiritual situation that also very much affected their daily living. The fellowships were very critical in nature, but they very crucial too as it affected their lives so much. And the fellowship towards the end were all very comforting.

All these fellowships were initiated by the persons themselves. As a brother, I opened myself to them and carefully listened to whatever they had to say. As I learned from Br. Watchman Nee, I listened carefully with my ears outwardly and prayed inwardly with my spirit for the Lord's light and revelation concerning each of them. I also tried to discern what was the actual situation and what was the Lord’s feeling concerning each case. I also learned to listened to what they did not say but was lying hidden beneath their tongues. It was a good exercise of my spirit to touch their spirits and also exercised to be one spirit with the Lord.

After listening to whatever they had to say, I expressed the feeling the Lord gave me deep within to each one of them. As I fellowshipped with them, I enjoyed the Lord flow of life and I believe it was the Lord who spoke to each one according to their need. I had much clarity and light within, as I released the burden the Lord gave me for each one of them. I believe, the Lord gave me this experience of being one spirit with the Lord. Then, I enjoyed praying together with each one of them and sensed the flow of life according to their situation. Each one of them went through different situations and each one's need were different.

I also have been reminded by the Lord about not usurping the headship of Christ. Therefore, I did not give them any direction as to what they should do. But to each one, I encouraged them to go before the Lord and submit themselves fully to the Lord. They should simply trust the Lord in their situation and honor the sovereignty of the Lord. I also warned each one of them not to make decision on their own nor do things on their own. But trust the Lord wholly for His work upon each one of them through their situation. The will of the Lord be done and not their own will. 

I do believe they will honor the fellowship and the Lord will preserve each one of them for His divine purpose. I do believe that they will give up their own opinions and feelings and follow the Lord's leading at all cost. May the Lord grace each one of them and gain them to be useful vessels to the Lord.

Life Lesson: God Rescues

Today, one of my greatest mistakes I ever made in my official decision-making was rectified. I took a shortcut route to make things easier and ended up entangled in over a year's period of regrets for not making the best decision. Anyhow, God has been sovereign in leading me to experience Him more deeply. He finally arranged a way for me to fully come out of this situation. The matter is simple, the shortest way is the longest way, and the easiest way is the most difficult way.

In 2019, as a company, we imported a container of Bibles and ministry books from USA. As soon as the cargo arrived at our godown, Covid 19 struck and the whole world was locked down for over a period of a year or so. But before India locked down, we delivered all the special orders to all our customers. During the lockdown period, though we could hardly make any sales of books, what were sold on installment were paid back monthly which became our source of income to keep us floating even when there was barely any business. Thank the Lord for His sovereign provision!

For the payback of the bill amount, I made a decision to adjust with our quarterly budget installment from our parent entity to which we provided literature service. In about two years period, all the bills were paid for. But the mistake I made was that I did not use the bank to pay back the bill, so in the record of the local and central bank, the bills remain unpaid though we actually paid in full to our parent entity. The outward remittance was not carried out but the bills were all paid for by adjusting with the service we rendered. As far as our company and our parent entity are concerned, all bills were cleared. But with the records in the banks, they were still pending. Therefore, every month we receive a reminder for payment from the bank.

I really thought I made the biggest blunder of my life. I even repented before the Lord for this mistake. But the Lord made a way out for me. In 2022, we purchased another bulk copy of New Testament in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Mizo. They were all printed in India so there was no import involved. But the bills were in our company’s name. So, to pay these bills off, these 2019 imported books bills became a channel to pay. Though the route was clear we did not have enough funds then. Only this month beginning, we completed an export to a company in Africa that bought bulk books from us. This amount together with all the sales of the New Testament Recovery Version till date gave us enough money to clear all these pending bills. After so much process in getting documents, today we were able to pay off successfully, giving a big relief from the condemning thought in mind. Finally, it has all been cleared!

I learned very important lessons in life; to never take shortcuts nor compromise on any work in order to get things done more easily. I am so thankful to the Lord for leading me through this and providing the means to sort this matter once and for all. I have learned a lot, spiritually and officially, how to do things in the proper and righteous way all the time.

Thank You, Lord, for this experience of learning from You and gaining You through all these life experiences. 

Lord, You are sovereign. I worship You for Your ways in perfecting me even when I make mistakes. Thank You, Lord!

Amen and Amen

In the recent fellowship with a  brother, though the response from the saints was not initially strong, that became a trigger point to bring forth the need to exercise our spirit in the meeting and receive the ministry of the word with resounding amens and amens. This is not a religious declaration nor a ritualist formality. But a genuine agreement in one accord with the word that has been ministered. A proper Christian meeting should not be uni-directional but multi-directional. The minister ministers the word, and the recipients receive the word not merely as coming from the minister but in agreement with the minister himself. Meaning, the minister's ministry of the words is the ministered ministry of the word too. It is only that one minister and the other receives and the recipients too minister by being one with the minister himself. Therefore, the ministry of the word is multi-directional. Though in a ministry message meeting, one seems to minister, actually all ministers together in oneness with the one who ministers. The minister and the ministered are all one. The minister may minister according to the Lord's burden imparted to him, but all the saints receive the ministry not merely as recipients but also in oneness with the minister by simply amening the ministry of the word. This is the significance of the saints opening their mouths wide and the Lord feeding them with His word through the minister. 

“I am Jehovah your God, Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” (Psalms 81:10, RecVer)

This reveals that in the church meetings during the apostle’s time, when one prayed, all the others said Amen, even “the Amen” with emphasis. 

“For as many promises of God as there are, in Him is the Yes; therefore also through Him is the Amen to God, for glory through us to God.” (2 Corinthians 1:20, RecVer)

When we say Amen before God to the fact that Christ is the Yes, the fulfillment, of all the promises of God, God is glorified through us.

In the Old Testament time too, there was the practice of saying amen to the word of God. 

“And Ezra blessed Jehovah the great God; and all the people answered, Amen, Amen, lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshipped Jehovah with their faces to the ground.” (Nehemiah 8:6, RecVer) 

So that he who blesses himself in the earth will bless himself in the God of faithfulness, and he who swears in the earth will swear by the God of faithfulness; Because the former troubles are forgotten and because they are hidden from My sight. (Isaiah 65:16)  

Lit., the God of Amen (twice in this verse); “i.e., the God who turns what He promises into Yea and Amen (2 Cor. 1:20)” (Keil and Delitzsch). Rev. 19:4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who sits upon the throne, saying, Amen, Hallelujah! 

I was helped to understand based on the word of God that I must exercise my spirit to receive the ministry of the word by amening the word of God. This is a sign of a normal and living  Christian meeting.

“Otherwise if you bless with the spirit, how shall he who fills the place of the unlearned in tongues say the Amen at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?” (1 Corinthians 14:16, RecVer)

Always amen the word of God by saying, "Amen!"