Faithful in Shepherding

It was Saturday afternoon after our prayer meeting that the church had arranged for two hours of gospel preaching and shepherding. I had a gap of two weeks in contacting the new ones as I was out of station. That day, I decided to meet the new ones by all means. I could not bear not meeting with these ones for too long.

First, I met a brother who came back from his hometown after the pandemic. I have been in touch for prayer with this brother over the phone. With his new job and in a new place, I went to cherish him. Then I met a brother who runs a small hotel, who has been struggling financially, and for whom I had taken the initiative to help him financially and spiritually. We had a short time of fellowship together at his hotel over a cup of coffee. I was there to cherish him in his present need and also to nourish him with prayer and supply of the word of God. Then, I went to meet a family who is also struggling in their family matter. This being Hindi speaking family I could only converse with them on trivial issues; a day-to-day matter. I am yet to attain the level of Hindi language as to minister to them. I prayed with them and they also prayed. In all these cases, the one thing that drove me to visit them all is, "I must be faithful in shepherding the new ones." 

Besides, I also received a call from a brother concerning his family situation. The Lord graced me the patient to pay heed to all he had to say, and the Lord also graced to shepherd him according to the instant leading the Lord gave me at that moment. 

Then, I came back to have an online monthly Zoom prayer meeting with my Christian classmates during my Master's degree; we fellowshipped and prayed together for about an hour, all online. Then, I had my late dinner and still prayed with my family members as usual.  

Shepherding requires simple care and concern for the ones under shepherding. Faithfulness is required to carry out this consistently. I pray that I may continually find grace in the eyes of God so as to be ever faithful in shepherding.

Jamshedpur: Ministry of the Word Literature Journey

Just for a day, we came to this city to meet some seeking believers. Since we did not know who these ones were, nor did we have any base yet to meet people, we ended up in a decent hotel in the city. From there we invited all the ones on our contact list to come and visit us at the hotel. One by one, seekers came and we introduced the ministry literature to them. For the whole day, we spend time in the same hotel, and thankfully the hotel management was kind enough to let us stay the whole day. Of course, we ordered tea and snacks, and lunch to compensate for the usage of the hotel

One other reason for our visit to the city is to shepherd a sister who has been a secret believer for many years due to her family background. She has been shepherded by some sisters over the phone and the ministry books were introduced to her too. She hailed from a  strong religious background and wanted to keep her faith in the Lord just between herself and the Lord and with a few other believers. Professionally, she is a high-ranking officer in the government. As we met her, she was so happy to fellowship with her fellow believers in the Body of Christ.

The first question she asked us was, how to know the will of God? I took that question as an opportunity to minister the word of God to her. So I expounded on the four ways of knowing God's will. The Word of God, the Holy Spirit, the Fellowship of the Body, and the Circumstantial Evidence. I ministered on the line of these four points with my subjective experiences, and also referred her to the ministry book where she can read the message by herself later. I also complimented my sharing with my own testimonies of following the leading of the Lord. Then we fellowship on the practice of calling upon the Lord's name and pray-reading His word. Incidentally, I had two booklets by the same title and presented them to her. Other brothers also followed suit and shared their testimonies as well. It was a sweet coordination in fellowship.

It was indeed a joy to fellowship with seeking believers and minister the word of God. The fellowship was so sweet and we could have gone on and on. But we had to leave for Ranchi as another meeting was already fixed for us to attend. Overall, I believe the Lord will gain this sister and other seeking believers for His testimony in Tatanagar. As a follow-up, on her consent, I have been sending her ministry portion day by day, for daily reading and pursuit, along with few others, with the burden of shepherding.

May the Lord gain her and also gain the local believers who would one day stand for His testimony in Tatanagar!

Ranchi: Ministry of the Word Literature Journey

In the capital city of Jharkhand, a brother and his family have been actively propagating the ministry for the Lord's testimony. He has two contacts specially reserved for the Lord's testimony. One of them is his neighbor and the other, his colleague in the office.

We have had two sittings with his house owner's family. This family loves the Lord and is very impressed by the ministry of the word. Though he has been one of the elders of a spiritual-seeking Christian group, the truth he enjoyed of the ministry is far deeper and sweeter than the monotonous ritualistic and religious preaching in the group he has been attending. The Lord had used the pandemic to force him to attend a regular meeting with the brother's family who is also his tenant. Many online meetings were conducted wherein his family even finished going through the life-study of Revelation, attended the video training, and some meetings online with the church in New Delhi. But for the pandemic, he would have never had the opportunity to taste the ministry or enjoy the church life, at least online. 

Now, the Lord has done some works in him and he became more seeking and more inquisitive to know more about the ministry; how it functions, locally, nationally, and internationally. He began to enquire on many practical details of the Lord's move. The answer to all these practical questions is simple, "the Lord's leading, the Lord's provision, and the Lord's ministry, for the Lord's testimony."

On our first meeting, the Lord gave me the burden to minister on How to Meet, to help them get out of the concept of the Christian religious way of meeting. 

What then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 1 Corinthians 14:26

I released my burden on how one has to be in spirit and follow the Lord's leading in singing, praising, speaking, prayer, and any activities in the meeting. The main purpose of the meeting is for the purpose of building up one another that in turn builds up the church, the Body of Christ.  Then, my brothers followed me in strengthening the burden on the meeting, as we have the burden and vision that his family would one day be bearing the Lord's testimony in Ranchi.

The second meeting was when he invited us for a dinner love feast, the night before we left the city. I had the burden to minister on the Lord's salvation, what I freshly enjoyed from the life-study of Philippians. Christ is the salvation of God; salvation is a Person, Christ.

Luke 2:25-29And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been divinely communicated to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the little child Jesus for them to do according to the custom of the law concerning Him, He received Him into his arms and blessed God and said, Now You release Your slave, Master, according to Your word, in peace; For my eyes have seen Your salvation.

Luke 19:9 And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. 

Salvation is a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is now the life-giving Spirit who dwells in our spirit. We were saved from eternal perdition but we still need to work out our salvation day by day. Though being saved eternally, we need to exercise our spirit daily by the operation of the indwelling God to work out our daily salvation. 

Philippians 2:12-13 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much rather in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure.

After releasing my burden, other brothers followed suit, ministering on the same burden. Then we all prayed together. Thus, ending the journey for this time. The following daily early morning I left for home.

The second meeting was with another brother who loves the word of God. To him we ministered on the truth concerning gaining God, especially through hardship and suffering, using the life of Job. His wife has been battling a stroke attack and the family was in a downward trend outwardly. But the Lord used even such to deal with our brother and humbled him to be more open to Him and to the brothers for a dearer fellowship. This brother's family is another potential family for the Lord's testimony in Ranchi.

Besides, we also met with another family whose family has been enjoying the ministry for years now. To them, our focus was on the children, who are growing up, ministering them in a way of testifying on loving the Lord when they were still young.

On the Lord's day, after the Lord's day meeting, the Lord burdened me to minister to the young people on the "Nazarite Vow" from Numbers 6 emphasizing the matter of consecration, especially for the young people. They all enjoyed the truth and the ministry of the word with subjective experiences. There were five young people who received the ministry. I believe they will one day become the pillars for the Lord's testimony in Ranchi. 

May the Lord raise up His testimony in Ranchi soon!

Khunti: Ministry of the Word Literature Journey

Raipur: Ministry of the Word Literature Journey

The fellowship we had in Raipur was more of a shepherding for the saints who have been meeting as the church there. We only had one night of fellowship as two other brothers were there for two days already. What impressed me most was the seeking heart of the saints, especially the sisters, and their longing to fellowship with the fellow members of the Body of Christ.

It was already late night when we arrived at the meeting hall. The first thing we did was feasting with the saints as it was dinner time. After dinner, the saints did not want to go home, rather they all wanted to stay back and have more fellowship. They all decided to stay in the meeting hall for the night for the sake of fellowship. When the saints gathered after dinner for fellowship, a brother started off with the burden on the church life using a picture of Mary-Martha-Lazarus in the gospel of  John 11. The saints in Raipur are in the ratio of 1:2 of brothers and sisters as in the case with Lazarus: Mary and Martha. This was such an encouragement to them as the sisters have been worrying about the lack of brothers for the church-life.

The spiritual significance of these three persons are noteworthy. Mary, a lover of the Lord who sat at the Lord's feet to listen to the Lord and fellowship with Him on the word; Martha, a lover of the Lord in practical services, and Lazarus, a lover of the Lord who was a testimony of the resurrection. This comprises the church-life in a practical way. All three characteristics are important and all these three components must be in the church-life. Loving the Lord like Mary, serving the Lord like Martha, and be a testimony of the Lord's resurrection like Lazarus.

Then I followed my brother's burden by bringing out Romans 16 on the greetings of Paul to the church in Rome, where he addressed a good number of sisters as they played important role in the ministry. 

I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a deaconess of the church which is in Cenchrea, Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, Greet Mary, one who has labored much for you.  Romans 16:1,3,6

Acts 12:12 mentioned the prayer at the house of sister Mary.

And when he became aware of this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, who was surnamed Mark, where there was a considerable number assembled together and praying.

This signifies the sister's function in taking the lead in the practical church-life, not taking the lead in the church's administration which is ordained by God for the brothers. The sisters have to function in all practical matters, else the church-life will be poor and unhealthy. One of the key points is the sisters' gathering together to pray for the saints, the brothers, and many other practical matters, and avoid any busy-bodies or gossips. 

In all these practical fellowships, the sisters in Raipur were very encouraged as they all testified of the new light they received through the fellowship. May the Lord continue to grace them to go on in the church-life. And may the Lord also gain more brothers for the church-life in Raipur!

Korba: Brotherly Visit

Shepherding is the key to recover a backslidden brother. The Lord Jesus recovered Peter by simply shepehrding him. And His charge to Peter was to simply shepherd the flock of God if he indeed loved Him. The same is true with every believer today. The soltuion to some backslidden, dishearted, and discouraged brothers is to simply shepherd them with the love of Christ.  

As the Lord has been shepherding me, He also burdened me to shepherd some brothers who I have been shepherding within my capacity.  This time, as we were on a trip to Chattisgarh, I deemed it fit to visit a brother and his family in Korba. We have been in fellowship and prayer over the phone, therefore, visiting them would further strengthen our fellowship and relationship in Christ. 

Our fellowship began as we were picked up from the railway station. We fellowshipped as we drove to the brother's home who came to pick us up. Then, the moment we reach his home, his father engaged us in clarifying some of his doubts he had been harboring since the time his son shifted to Raipur leaving his government job for the sake of the Lord's testimony. Many doubts he had were poured out one by one. 

We looked to the Lord deep within to address his questions. The Lord indeed graced us to answer, question by question, on truth, life, practice, church, and other spiritual and human matters. The fellowship went all the way till midnight when we felt to take a break, prayed, and took rest for the day. The next day, our fellowship began at the breakfast table which went on till lunch and further continued till the father and son dropped us and saw us off at the railway station.

Besides the sweet fellowship, we also enjoyed the sweet hospitality the brother's family gave us. I believe, the Lord's testimony began from one's family life at home and then further spreads to other areas; from the center to the circumference. Without a proper family life, I am very doubtful of one being useful in the Lord's hand. "Charity begins from home," is the world-famous dictum; and I modify this as, "Sanctify, testimony, and ministry begins from home!"

After the fellowship, the brother confirmed to me the positive feeling from his parent after our visit and fellowship. My only fellowship to him is, to simply live out Christ and that his life would be a living testimony, and warned him never to preach nor try to convince his parent in any way other than his own living testimony. The word of St. Augustine rang forth, "Preach the gospel always, if necessary, use words."

I believe the Lord would fully shepherd my dear brother, recover his full enjoyment of Christ, and restore his earthly profession, and also restore his function in the Body to be a pillar for the Lord's testimony one day. 

May the Lord recover and restore my brother and his family even to the raising up of His testimony in Korba!

Khariar Road: Ministry of the Word Literature Journey

This border town, Khariar Road, Odisha, has three families whom the Lord has gradually gained in the past few years. This time, we visited them to strengthen them in their going on to bear the Lord's testimony. The brothers have prepared everything ready for the Lord's testimony. Though they still have been eagerly waiting for the official establishment of the Lord's table meeting, they faithfully have been pursuing the ministry and have been joining many online meetings with the church in Gurugram and New Delhi. Meanwhile, they were also very much burdened for some of the Christian leaders they know of in their previous denomination.

This time during our visit, they have invited Christian leaders from Bhilai, Naugaon, Cuttack, and other places to listen to the ministry of the word. Since the brothers came out of the denomination, they wanted their acquaintances to see and know and experience the truths they themselves have been enjoying. In sweet coordination, we exercised our spirit and ministered the word as the Lord led us.

During the two days meeting the brothers have arranged, besides the Spirit's leading, we had no idea what to minister. The leaders were much elder to us in terms of physical age, and we had no idea about what's boiling within them. Since the meeting was arranged, we prayed, exercised our spirit, and followed the leading of the Lord within to minister the timely word. 

On the first day, before the meeting began I was introduced to one of the leaders who shared his testimony to me. Based on what he shared, I got the burden to minister on the matter of the oneness. We delved deeply into the matter of division caused by Jeroboam in 1 Kings 12 and connected with the division caused during apostle Paul's time in 1 Corinthians. We then ministered the truth concerning the need for oneness among God's children for God to have His dwelling place using relevant verses in the New Testament.

In the afternoon meeting, I started off with God's heart's desire to have a dwelling place among men on earth, starting with Genesis 1:26, then traced the history of man. Then, I picked up from Jacob's dream in Genesis 28:12, traced the line of thought to Moses in building the tabernacle, to Solomon in building the temple, the Lord Jesus as the temple, and finally, the church as the temple of God today in the New Testament.  

In the meeting on the second day, we began with testimonies of few brothers and expounded the truth concerning the reality of the good land in Deuteronomy 8:7-10. I released my burden on the experience of the crucifixion of Christ typified by the valleys and the experience of resurrection typified by the mountains. My brothers followed the burdened and continued with the experience of wheat, barley, vines, fig-trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey, stones, iron, and copper.

Later in the afternoon, we touched the matter of calling upon the Lord's name and pray-reading His word, with testimonies from local brothers who really enjoyed the matter of calling upon the Lord's name. Finally, we sang hymns and prayed for the believers, for the Lord's testimony to be raised up in many parts of Odisha, and also for the onward ministry journey to Korba, Raipur, Ranchi, and Tatanagar. 

This was what the Lord has done in Khariar Road for the Lord's move in Odisha. One thing was sure, the Lord has been hiddenly moving in the hearts of the people there. Many villages have been prepared for the Lord's testimony. 

O how we look forward to the day the Lord will raise up many bright shining golden lampstands all over Odisha!