Walk By This Rule

Today morning, our pursuing on the Life-study of Leviticus, Message 25, was very enlightening and very apt. As these days, we are dwelling on the enjoyment of the Lord. However, this can turn out to be just a theological doctrine in knowledge alone without much reality. Enjoyment of the Lord has a condition from our side. Without this special condition, there can be no enjoyment of the Lord. 

Three portions in the New Testament indicate that even in the enjoyment of Christ we need to be regulated. In 1 Corinthians 9:26 and 27 Paul says, “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so I box, not as beating the air; but I buffet my body and lead it as a slave, lest having preached to others, I myself should become disapproved.” Literally, the Greek word translated “buffet” means to beat the face under the eye black and blue. This is not to ill-treat the body as in asceticism, nor to consider the body evil as in Gnosticism. This is to subdue the body and make it a conquered captive to serve us as a slave for fulfilling our holy purpose. In these verses we see not only requirements but demands. Here we have the strongest demand of the strongest law.

Galatians 6:15 and 16 say, “Neither is circumcision anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace be upon them and mercy, even upon the Israel of God.” In verse 15 Paul tells us that “neither is circumcision anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.” This is grace. Today we do not need circumcision or uncircumcision—we only need grace. But in verse 16 Paul goes on to tell us that the way to receive mercy and peace is to “walk by this rule,” the rule of the new creation. God has saved us to the state and condition of a new creation with Christ as its life. Now we need to walk by the rule of this new creation.

The rule of the new creation will regulate us in the time we go to bed at night and rise in the morning. On the Lord’s Day in particular, the rule of the new creation will urge us to rise up a little earlier, pray for the meeting, and come to the meeting early to meet with the Lord and worship Him.

The reward for walking according to the rule of the new creation is mercy and peace. I can testify that when I walk according to this rule, I have mercy and peace. If we walk according to the rule of the new creation in the way we prepare for and come to the meeting on the Lord’s Day, we will receive mercy and peace.

Walking by the rule of the new creation is a matter of law. In the new creation, there is a new life, and within this new life, there is a new law. This new law is actually the Lord Himself within us, regulating us all the time.

We are God’s new creation, and we have the life of this new creation. With this life there is a regulating law. In our daily living, we need to be regulated by this law.

In Philippians 3:13 and 14 Paul tells us that he is forgetting what is behind, stretching forward to what is before, and pursuing “toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Then in verses 15 and 16 he says, “Let us therefore, as many as are full-grown, have this mind; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, this also God shall reveal to you. Only this, whereunto we have attained, by the same rule let us walk.” The Greek word translated “walk” here means to walk orderly; it is derived from a word which means to range in regular line, to march in military rank, to keep step, to conform to virtue and piety. Thus, Paul is here charging us to walk in line, in order, and in a regulated way.

These three portions of the New Testament all indicate the same thing—that in the enjoyment of grace we need to be ruled.

Without this "walk by this rule" there can be no enjoyment of the Lord. Even in my own experience, if I do not exercise to "walk by this rule" I cannot enjoy the Lord at all. However, even to "walk by this rule" the grace of God is needed, without which, this is yet again another doctrine. The conclusion of the matter is, we need to look to the Lord for His grace to be able to "walk by this rule" and enjoy the Lord.

Lord, grace me "walk by this rule" and enjoy You daily, all the days of my life!

Trust in Jehovah

Psalms 37: 

3 Trust in Jehovah, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself in Jehovah, And He will give you the requests of your heart.

5 Commit your way to Jehovah, And trust in Him; and He will act.

The burden the Lord has burdened me for the highly academically qualified has been carried out step by step. Last week, the Lord burdened me to meet and fellowship with some of these dear ones. The first two were PhD from a reputed university in India. The main burden of fellowship was on "God's Blessings". And later, the same night, with a couple of gold medalist in their respective subject, one of them a PhD and the other an aspiring civil servant of the highest rank in India. And few days later on, with two more brothers, one a PhD and the other again an aspiring civil servant of the highest rank, as before.

With all these, the burden I received from the Lord was more or less the same. That they all be blessed of the Lord and be useful vessel to the Lord. For this, they all need the Lord's blessing. No matter how educationally qualified or intelligent they may be, without the Lord's blessings, all their efforts are vanity of vanities. My simple fellowship to them was to look to the Lord for His blessings above all their academic attainments. And to receive such blessings, what they need is to be vessels worthy of the Lord's blessings by living a life of prayer, trusting the Lord, and planning and preparing well. Moreover, to deal with all blockades that might hinder the Lord's blessings in their lives, such as sins, worldliness and not being absolute for the Lord.

Few days later, as I continued to pray for them, the Lord gave me Bible verses to nourish them with. Psalms 37:3 Trust in Jehovah, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.4 Delight yourself in Jehovah, And He will give you the requests of your heart.5 Commit your way to Jehovah, And trust in Him; and He will act. I texted it to most of them and they replied how much shepherding these verses have been to them especially at the time when they were facing the toughest challenges of their life time. My interceding prayer for each of them was that the Lord may bless them and gain them fully for the testimony of Jesus.

The same thing was applied to my own blood brother. The Lord began to answer these many years of prayer. I had a sweet fellowship and prayer with him over the phone and thanked the Lord for what He has been working into him. More growth in life and maturity has been manifested overtime, and I felt it was the right time to help him even in financial matter for his new business. The Lord gave me and my wife such a peace to render help to our own sibling too. The faithful Lord whom we trust is giving us "the request of our hearts" and "He is working out what we have committed to Him!" 

The Lord, Jehovah, is trustworthy. Trust in Him with full submission, He will entrust you with His commission.

Storm in a Teacup

Years have elapsed since we first came to Gurgaon and preached the gospel in this city. Many have been saved, yet the nature of this city is that of a metropolis where swarms of people thronged from all over India and like modern nomads, none really a permanent or local resident among those whom we have contacted. The thirst for increase has been long pending in the local church we have been meeting. Though many came and went and some were caught by the Lord for His recovery, the strength in number is far too less from the rate of increase of this city's growth. We have had quite a number of gospel preachings and sheperding in homes, but not to our real satisfaction. We believe it has to be much more and we pray earnestly for the same.

These days, the rain seems to be pouring-in in this dry and thirsty land. And the enemy knows it quite well. His main attack is to fight against the church and the saints by all means in all possible ways. Therefore, we are also gearing up with the armor of God for a spiritual battle. Off and on, the battle is raging. As the church, as we prayed, the enemy's silence has reached his limit and began to storm up. This storming up to me is just a storm in a teacup. For he is the defeated foe as Christ is already the Victor!

Tonight's prayer meeting has experienced one such storm in a teacup. With certain brothers opining on what's going one and how we should shepherd or preached the gospel. To me it was all a storm in a teacup. Only the Lord knows why the church we are in is not gaining so much increase as hoped and prayed for. Not that there is no increase at all. In fact, there is a good number of increase. New families and new saints have been added, but our expectation is a big growth, which may not happen as wished. For the Lord knows the best.

To me, the Lord is the Lord of blessings. If He wills, He will bless. Often times, our unprepared vessels are the problem that hinders the Lord's blessings. Perhaps, there are "Achans" who have treasured spiritually prohibited items among His children. Or perhaps, the self, the natural man, sins and the world are still too sticky among the saints. Only the Lord Himself knows. My personal prayer at this time is for the Lord to sanctify each one, deal with each one according to our need and be filled with Him to flow out to others and gain increase.

Opining otherwise on dos and don'ts or whos, whats and hows will not help the saints nor the increase and growth of the church a bit. I firmly believe, as the Lord has been preparing us, in His time He will shower abundance of blessings. And that day is not far from now. So, cheer up. Sail one and continuing enjoying the church-life. 

The enemy's storm in a teacup is a sure sign of the forthcoming fulfillment of the Lord's promised blessings.

Lord, sanctify our vessels to command Your blessings!

Remember Thy Creator

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth... Ecclesiastes 12:1a

Yesterday, the 16th of August happened to be the birthday of two youths of our new ones; one from a Hindu background and the other from a Christian background. The former was a first time contact whereas the later, a longtime fellow believers in Christ. 

As we went to meet the new ones in their homes we happened to visit the aforementioned first family. At the very instant of us being welcomed home, the old granny declared ecstatically that it was her first grand daughter's birthday and that she wanted us to bless her. A very wonderful opportunity for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Immediately, I took no time to gift her a birthday gift, the word of God. 

I read out loud, "Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth..." and told the young teen that her birthday gift is to Remember her Creator. I went on to explain who is the Creator, the true and living God becoming a man, Jesus Christ, who died and rose and became a life-giving Spirit. And to remember means to experience Him in life; a true remembrance is a true experience in life. And later led them to call on the Lord and pray to receive the Lord Jesus Christ. That was indeed, a blessed birthday gift!

Today evening in my fellowship with the second family mentioned above, I was told that yesterday was their son's birthday and that the son himself expected a birthday gift of the word of God. Right away I quoted the same verse. 

We all read together, "Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth... Ecclesiastes 12:1a" And further read 1 Kings 3:5-15, Solomon seeking wisdom from God, and how God granted him wisdom and with riches and glory and long life. And the way to receive wisdom is by receiving and experiencing God Himself everyday who is the Wisdom. For this to happen practically, a simple and daily reading of the word of God and prayer to experience God as wisdom is needed. With this wonderful birthday gift for the youth, we all prayed together, especially for the teens to remember the Lord, their Creator, in the days of their youth, and for wisdom, and for grace to exercise daily to read the word and pray.

That was a special birthday gift for youth, Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth...

Blessed Gospel

Gospel, literally mean "good news". But who is the object of the good news? Often, the understanding is that the good news is for the one to whom the gospel is preached. But this is only half truth. In reality, the gospel is both to the preacher (subject) and the preached (object). It is bidirectional and mutual, not unidirectional and individual.

My experiences these days is, the more I go out to preached the gospel, the more I am blessed with the gospel. Recounting all that transpired these few weeks, the best times I had were those when I preached the gospel. Every time I went out, there was much exercise of the spirit in prayer. And every time I met a gospel candidate or gospel families, the Lord's anointing was so rich upon me and life was ministered; I enjoyed my own speaking as much as they do, if not more. Every such meetings took no less than half an hour or in many cases, a couple of hours. 

Last two days, with some saints, I met five families, all gentiles, and some were very strong in their religious beliefs. But as I began to preached the gospel, not one had any opinion or contrary thought or questions. When the gospel was preached in all purity with the proper use of the word of God, in spirit with testimonies, none could argue. They had no other option, but to believe into Jesus Christ. And all of those I met ended up in calling upon the Lord Jesus' Name and a sinner's prayer of repentance, confession and believing into the Lord Jesus Christ. Besides the gospel itself, we became friends and brothers and sisters. And I enjoyed the presence and the joy of God so much. This truly indeed is the gospel, the good news, to others and also me.

Now I begin to understand why the Lord gave such a great commission to us all, the believers. It is not merely for gospelization per se, but much more for our own spiritual health and growth, and also for the experience and enjoyment of the Lord Himself. This is the blessed gospel. 

Being Daddy

Though I am a father of three now, still my feeling often times is that of a single. Being a young adult, learning the art of fathering, if there is such a thing, I am still looking to the Lord for more maturity and more growth in life. 

Lessons of life are not learned in text books nor taught in school nor university. They are learned in life as life goes on and grows and develops. I am one such ardent student in the school of life. Learning and learning, especially of "being daddy."

An incident with my son a month ago was an eye opening to me. One day, he told a story to a sister of which he himself was the main character of the story. In it, he narrated, he was not loved by his parents as their love were more for the girls in the family, and that led him to dejection. So, he went to his neighbor and played with their children instead, to find love. This story was narrated by that sister to my wife and then on to me. Later, I asked my son if he ever told such a story, and to confirm, I asked him to narrate the same story to me. Indeed, it was true. 

In fellowship with my wife, we decided to treat all our children equally as much as possible and not to give ground to any emotional distortion, which is the attack point of the enemy. Since then, I learned my lesson of showering same and equal love to all of them. Though sometimes, it may not be perfectly possible as they differ in age and gender, the way of care and concern will differ. But to not give an iota of doubt in their minds that that were treated unequally. This lesson "prefected" me in the lesson of "being daddy".

Thank God, I learn this at least now, when they all are still young. Looking back at my own life, I felt the same thing. What I used to feel as a son of my parent, is what my son is feeling now. Henceforth, I am doing my best to spend as much time as possible with my kids, especially, my son. To make them feel and realize that I do love them, and indeed love them very dearly and equally. 

Lesson of "being daddy" is quite interesting and challenging. Time will tell how well I learn this lesson, perhaps, when all my children grow up. As a student in the school of life, I only look to the Lord for His mercy and blessing, and also trust His grace will teach all the lessons of "being daddy". 

Being Nothing

O the joy of having nothing and being nothing, seeing nothing

But a living Christ in glory,

And being careful for nothing but His interests down here.

Whom have I in heaven but Thee?

And there is none upon the earth that I desire beside Thee.

O the joy of having nothing and being nothing, seeing nothing

But a living Christ in glory,

And being careful for nothing but His interests down here.

https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/ns/26?

Brother Nelson Darby's experience of Christ in being nothing was really hard to understand. Though I appreciate the hymn and the testimony behind the hymn, I am yet to fathom the true meaning of this hymn. 

What is the meaning of "being nothing"? Or "having nothing"? For in reality every one is something and indeed has something. Perhaps, there are deeper spiritual significance that I am yet to fathom. Perhaps, my growth in life will one day bring me to a better realization of this phrase.

Recently, the Lord began to give me some experiences of "being nothing." The phrase, to my understanding, means being emptied before God in simplicity with all purity; that one stands in the position of a created man before the Creator God and absoluteness acknowledges his nothingness before God and fully depend upon Him. In fact, this is a good standing ground in relation to God as the Creator and the Supreme and Sovereign One. Yet, this is just one side of a coin. For, God Himself is also mingled with man and becomes one with man and becomes everything to man.

With the little experiences of Christ and few knowledge about God and His ways, I discerned that a certain brother may match with a certain sister. I have been praying and doing all that I could to somehow fellowship with them, hoping, perhaps, that they would "amen" to one another. This process has been conceived for at least a year until I brought it up for fellowship. And almost a year has also transpired since the matter was brought out. But the answer was not forthcoming and not as discerned or hoped for. The same case is with another brother and sister. Everything of the inner voice seemed to sound a perfect match, however, what was in reality was not so. This experience was a true test of "discernment". By the way, so far, none of my "matching" proposal come to fruition. And thank God for that. This exposed me to at least see myself, and know myself, wherein I stand before God and man. And indeed, be assured in experience of "being nothing." 

This experience brought me to see in reality that I am indeed "nothing." My discernment whatsoever, be it spiritual or psychological, is really nothing. Feelings may come now and then, but the ultimate decision is the Lord's. I have no say, nor opine on anything. Thank God, for this experience. Perhaps, I am beginning to understand what brother J N Darby meant, "O the joy of having nothing and being nothing, seeing nothing, But a living Christ in glory". 

May the Lord grace me to understand more of "being nothing" but Christ.