Give Them Food

They all wait for You, That You may give them food at the proper time.  Psalms 104:27

This morning in my study of the word of God, the Lord spoke to me in a very definite way that I must give spiritual food to the people in need at the proper time. I have been in contact with a good number of Christian all over India. Many of them I have met during the distribution trip, and a good number of them are my Christian contacts for the past over twenty years. In my locality in Gurugram too, there are a good number of Christian contacts who are on the way to the church life. In fact, at some point, a couple of months ago, I kind of gave up on many of these contacts assuming that they were not interested in the ministry of the word as I could not see the result I expected from them. So to many of them, I have stopped sending ministry messages and also stopped contacting them.

Now, with the commencing of the Memorial Day Conference online today and the conference being open to all Christians, I picked up the burden to invite all my Christian contacts again. Perhaps, this is the Lord's arrangement for them to have a taste of the ministry. I have the confirmation within with the Lord's speaking that I need to give them food. Irrespective of how they feel about me or how I feel about them, the Lord has spoken that "They all wait for me, That I may give them food at the proper time."

Like a mother feeding her babies in a timely manner, I must continue to feed all those the Lord has given to me as contacts with the healthy spiritual food. That's my responsibility. And I must do it faithfully as a faithful and prudent slave.

Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his household to give them food at the proper time? Matthew 24:45

One issue I have with me is, I always look for visible results from the ones I am caring for. Yes, there must be results of shepherding.  But that must be in the Lord's timing and in the Lord's way.  The word spoken to me is that I must give food at the proper time as they all await for the food without mentioning anything of the outcome. I simply must leave the matter of the results to the Lord and just be faithful in what I am called to do.

Lord, grace me to be Your faithful and prudent slave to give food to your children at the proper time.

Golden Dream

I was in spirit on the Lord’s Day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, Saying, What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea. 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.  Revelation 1:10-13

The Church, the Body of Christ, the one New Man, the Bride of Christ, is being expressed in the localities where the saints are as the many local churches. These local churches are the practicality and expression of the one unique universal Church. These churches are the procedure for God to fulfill  His eternal goal. They are not the end but the means. And these local churches are the golden lampstands while viewing in the spirit according to God's view. This is the view the apostles had in the New Testament, and many brothers have had in the church history, including Brother Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. This is the view that we must have today. And I also have this view since the Lord brought me into the church life in His recovery. Now, this has become my vision, my burden, and my dream. In fact, my "golden dream!" The dream of the golden lampstands all over India! The dream of India being brightened by the shining of the golden lampstands! Therefore, I am serving with this dream with my fellow brothers in coordination.

The golden dream has been burdening me so much for states in India where there is no golden lampstand raised up on the proper ground of oneness in fellowship with the Body. For this, the Lord has placed me in the literature service and allotted my portion in the distribution of the ministry of the word by travelling places, especially to these localities where there are seeking believers without a proper standing for the Lord's testimony. Since 2006, I have been touring different parts of India, wherever the Spirit led me. By 2019, all the important states, districts, cities, towns, and villages have been visited with the ministry literature distributed, and the seekers fellowshipped with and met. Whatever ministry books have been distributed, I reckon them as "ministry seeds" sown into that locality, waiting for it to grow and bear fruit one day. 

Listen! Behold, the sower went out to sow…into the good earth and yielded fruit, coming up and growing; and one bore thirtyfold, and one sixtyfold, and one a hundredfold. (Mark 4:3, 8) 

The sons of peace, the Lord's remnant, whom the Lord led me to, were followed up in prayer and shepherding them with excerpts from the ministry portion now and then. Some of these "fruits" were gathered weekly and monthly for prayer and fellowship. I have been graced to spend time with a group of brothers and sisters from Nagaland, praying weekly for the Lord to raise up His golden lampstands. As we have been praying, we could gradually see the hand of the Lord moving, gathering and recovering His remnants.  I trust the Lord that He will accomplish His work in due time. The golden dream for Nagaland will be fulfilled soon!

In the state of Meghalaya too, the Lord is gradually recovering His remnants. I have been praying with some key brothers weekly and in fellowship with some brothers monthly. This is the Lord's work and He will accomplish it in time. The golden dream for Meghalaya will be fulfilled soon!

Similarly, in the state of Odisha, Chattisgarh, Bihar, and Jharkhand, regular morning revival, ministry pursuit, fellowship and meetings have been going on in full swing now. It is just a matter of time when the Lord will raise up His lampstand in all these states where there is no lampstand yet. The golden dream for Odisha, Chattisgarh, Bihar, and Jharkhand will be fulfilled soon!

The Lord also gave a brother in Madhya Pradesh with whom I have been praying and pursuing the ministry together. Just yesterday, another brother from Rajasthan called to fellowship his hunger and thirst for the word. Now he is also in the list of seeking contacts I have been sending ministry excerpt regularly.  Thereby adding two more states, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to the golden dream.

Meanwhile, the Lord has been working among the brothers who have already taken the stand on the ground of oneness to build up the local church. This important matter of learning to build up the local church has been going on since the Lord initiated it through a matured and elder brother whose fellowship has always been very enlightening, edifying, and perfecting. I myself am blessed and graced to be one of the trainees, learning from this brother.

How to build up a local church? A proper christian living, a living that enjoys Christ being expressed in the local church is the first step to building up. For this, there must be the daily feeding on the word of God to be constituted with the word and even become the word of God. This is the "word becoming flesh and taberncaling among us, full of grace and reality."

And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality. John 1:14

This will result in the church expressing God through the saints who are constitued with the word. There will be a practical expression of grace and reality. This is the sign of the church being builded up. Another sign of being builded up is the sweet coordination among the saints especially the brothers. There will be a peaceful coordination among all the brothers in mutual submission, the elder ones to the younger ones and vice versa, which will command the blessing of God and release the flow of living water to, among, and through all the saints. Which will also become a pattern for and to the new lampstands to be raised up. There will be the shining of the local churches as the golden lampstands. This is the golden dream!

Lord, raise up Your golden lampstands all over India! Lord, fulfill the golden dream in India!

Honor Thy Brother

Love one another warmly in brotherly love; take the lead in showing honor one to another. Romans 12:10

Last Friday we had the church's gospel meeting as usual. I have been graced to coordinate all the practical arrangements for this gospel meeting. Each time the assigned speaker has to prepare the PowerPoint presentation of the gospel message and another brother does the Hindi translation and then sends it to me for finalization. When I received the file, I felt like redoing the entire presentation. The reason being, raw data was sent to me. Topic and main points with subpoints were not categorized at all; it was just the entire message. I was considering for a moment if I should redo the whole presentation again. I was hoping that the brother could have done a better job. 

As I turned to the Lord and consider how to handle the matter, the Lord impressed me deeply to honor what my brother had done. It was his turn for preaching the gospel message and it was his preparation. Why should I change according to my taste? I simply should learn to honor his work. And perhaps, work on the design instead of changing the content.

So I redesigned the entire presentation without changing anything on the content except some punctuation corrections and came up with a very elegant and professional presentation. I myself felt the anointing of the Lord as I read through the entire message and experienced the wisdom of the Lord in redesigning the presentation.  I felt very peaceful to use this for the gospel meeting.

When the gospel meeting started, the brother began to present the gospel message slowly and steadily and I steered through the PowerPoint in pace with his preaching. There was the Lord's anointing in the speaking. After the gospel meeting, I was surprised by the number of attendance and also the feedback from the attendants. One attendant asked for the entire presentation as he felt blessed by the brothers' speaking.

After the gospel meeting when I spent time with the Lord, the Lord spoke to me this verse in Romans 12:10 "Love one another warmly in brotherly love; take the lead in showing honor one to another." I must learn to honor my brother and also honor the work he has done despite my own feeling or opinion. I must learn to coordinate with my brother and blend to serve together in oneness. After all, it is the Lord who blesses, depending upon how blended and built up we are in oneness with one another. 

Later, I was also led by the Lord to share this presentation with the church members for their perusal; for their gospel resource, and even to share with their gospel friends.

Hence, two important spiritual lessons were freshly constituted into me: Take the lead in showing honor one to other and serve in coordination, then the Lord's blessing will be upon our services.

Escape from Vanity to Reality

King Solomon and David had discovered, after all their kingly experiences of the world and all its glory, that everything under the sun is vanity of vanities. This vanity was caused by Satan's injecting himself into man as sin and since then, the entire creation is subject to vanity. Human life at its best is also under the slavery of corruption. There is no exception even to the believers. That being the case, is there any hope left at all to the fallen mankind and the corrupted creation? Yes. Because God also created man with a spirit and put eternity in his heart.

He has made everything beautiful in its own time; also He has put eternity in their heart, yet so that man does not find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

The eternity God has put in man's heart is to seek and long for God Himself. Not knowing God's desire for man to seek God is due to man's ignorance that issues in seeking for the temporal things to satisfy the eternal longing that only God as the eternal One can satisfy.  This is an escape route from vanity to the reality that is eternal.

This therefore I say and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk in the vanity of their mind. Ephesians 4:17 

The way to escape vanity is by learning Christ and be taught in Him as He is the reality.

But you did not so learn Christ, If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him as the reality is in Jesus. Ephesians 4:20-21

As believers in Christ Jesus, it is very much possible to live in the reality because we are already in Him. 

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding that we might know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:20 

It is only a matter of turning to Him and taking Him as grace. So day by day, we must enjoy grace by turning to Him and exercising our spirit to experience the reality in Jesus.

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good for building up, according to the need, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29 

By learning Christ as the reality the will of God in gaining the sonship is also being accomplished.  The entire creation is now eagerly awaiting the revelation of the sons of God, for the full sonship to be accomplished among God's children. As genuine children of God, we have received the sonship in our spirit. Since then, sonship is being gained in our souls through the different experiences we undergo day by day. Then finally, even our mortal body will be fully redeemed. Thereby, our entire being, spirit, soul, and body will gain the sonship. This is the full sonship that we eagerly await.

For the anxious watching of the creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation was made subject to vanity, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, In hope that the creation itself will also be freed from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans together and travails in pain together until now. And not only so, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan in ourselves, eagerly awaiting sonship, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:19-23 

Today, we can escape from vanity to reality by enjoying Christ as grace. In the process, God will gain the sonship in our souls and ultimately, one day, the full sonship will be gained, fully brought into reality.

This is the Lord's speaking these days in the church that we all have been experiencing... Escaping from the vanity of our mind to the reality in Jesus, eagerly awaiting the full sonship. Grace upon grace be upon us for this...

Report on Ministry Distribution 2021

On 19th April 2021, a brother messaged in our coordination app (MSTeam) if we would like to write a report on the distribution in India in the recent past. I took that as an opportunity to learn to write as a fellowship to the Body concerning the Lord's move in India through the ministry literature distribution. I brought it to prayer and considered carefully what to write and what not to write within the 2000 words limit. Then, felt led by the Spirit, I drafted a mail and sent it to the brother I am coordinating in the literature service. He commented that the article was good and recommended copying the brothers serving in the work in India while sending it. That comment triggered within me the need for further fellowship with the brothers serving in the work in India as distribution is also a part of the Lord's move in India. Though we serve distinctly, we all are in the one service, in the one work. Therefore, I wrote to the brothers and waited for their confirmation. Though the confirmation did not come as soon as I expected, it came a week later with one word to add, which I missed out on. Meanwhile, the Lord inspired me to add one more paragraph concerning being shown mercy to witness the works of the Holy Spirit in India. Then, it was sent to a brother who requested it. The report was published on Having This Ministry- A Digital Newsletter from Living Stream Ministry in the first issue, May 2021 

A Report on Ministry Distribution in India - May 2021 (lsm.org)

The original draft before editing for publication is below:  

Distribution Report India 2021

Listen! Behold, the sower went out to sow.…into the good earth and yielded fruit, coming up and growing; and one bore thirtyfold, and one sixtyfold, and one a hundredfold. Mark 4:3,8

As sowers, the serving ones have been distributing the ministry literature all over India. Since last year, the Lord has begun to manifest the “fruits coming up and growing” of the ministry "seeds" sown especially in the Hindi speaking region of North India. Many seeking Christian groups have taken the stand for the Lord's testimony in their localities based on the truths they have learned from the ministry books, especially The Normal Christian Church Life and The Glorious Church, and are now in fellowship with the established local churches in the Lord’s recovery. As evident from the fellowship with the key leaders of these groups, the level of truths in them have grown much. The ministry literature does the work of reconstitution and recovery inwardly, and outwardly to follow suit for the establishment of the practical church life.

The ministry distribution has played a vital role in opening up the country for the Lord’s move; breaking up the fallow ground, tilling it, and sowing the seeds of the ministry. Below are few instances testifying to this fact.

North India

In the month of February 2021, the ministry books were exhibited in the largest Christian festival held annually in Chhattisgarh. Many of the Hindi-speaking Christian leaders who have already been enjoying the ministry books have visited and purchased all the newly released publication in Hindi to the point that the books brought for exhibition ran out of stock on day one itself. Despite the ongoing pandemic, they invited the brothers and gathered the believers in the city for a physical gathering after nine months of lockdown just to meet and fellowship, in addition to arranging a Zoom meeting for those who could not be present physically. 

In a town in Odisha, a group of Christian leaders came to listen to the serving ones concerning the ministry books. Though they had some negative presumption before, after listening to the serving ones’ presentation of the truths for two days, they affirmed the orthodoxy of the teachings, testified of the new lights they have seen concerning Christ and the church, and planned for a visit to see the church life.

In another town, a group of Christians who have been reading the ministry books expressed their longing to fully take the stand for the Lord’s testimony on the local ground of oneness based on the truths they have learned from the ministry books. One of the key brothers, a well-known local tribal leader who left the denomination after he tasted the ministry, expressed his deep desire and burden for the truth to be made known to many of his relatives and fellow Christians. He and a group of believers are now under constant fellowship and shepherding, awaiting and preparing for the establishment of the local church in their town.

The ongoing pandemic, though disastrous, has paved the way for a good number of seekers who read the ministry books to begin to experience the practical church life, virtually though. They started pursuing the Holy Word for Morning Revival, and pursued The Life-study of Revelation. A brother, who is an elder in a Christian group, testified that despite being an elder for a couple of decades, never understood nor enjoyed the word of God as much as he does now after tasting the ministry through the ministry books. He and his family are under regularly shepherding.  

South India

In the South where Christian population is higher, the ministry books in vernacular languages have been introduced and distributed on a regular basis by touring Christian villages, towns, and cities, alongside visiting theological seminaries and supplying the Christian bookstores with ministry books. The ministry books exhibitions have been conducted in big Christian conventions where many seeking pastors, priests, and people have come to know and taste the ministry. Some popular titles among the seekers are God’s New Testament Economy, The All-inclusive Christ, and The Economy of God by Witness Lee; and The Spiritual Man 3 vols, The Breaking of the Outer Man and the Release of the Spirit, and The Character of the Lord’s Worker by Watchman Nee. Through such tours and exhibitions, a good number of seekers are now fellowshipping with the nearby local churches. In fact, the ministry literature serves a pivotal role in ushering the Lord’s remnants into the practical church life as envisioned in the books. 

West India

The Lord has reserved hundreds of seekers in different villages, towns, and cities, who have been the beneficiaries of the ministry books. When the saints took a distribution trip in February 2021, many of them were discovered in clusters spread over different districts of Maharashtra. The ministry books exhibitions and seminars were held in a couple of these localities where these remnants were contacted and brought under a regular shepherding with the saints in the nearby local churches. 

Prominent Christian Leaders

Another burden in the literature service is to clear off the "negative tag" on Brother Witness Lee's ministry among some Christian groups. Beginning this year, the serving ones have started reaching out to the key Christian leaders, who are nationally, even internationally, famous and have a nationwide influence. One such leader was met in March 2021, and the ministry of brother Watchman Nee and Witness Lee was introduced. He was impressed by the real-life testimonies of the saints and churches who are beneficiaries of the two brothers’ ministry, to the extent that he publicly introduced and recommended the ministry books to his congregation and invited the visiting brothers to minister the word in their Lord’s day meeting. Besides, the ministry books were distributed to many of the missionaries serving in the organization. 

In New Delhi, a prominent Hindi Christian publisher and literature organization has started accepting the ministry books after many years of subtle resistance. In January 2021, when the manager learned about the depth of the ministry teachings and heard the testimonies of the saints who have been enjoying the ministry, opened up and requested for all the publication in Hindi to be exhibited in their bookstore. This openness has brought a staff of the bookstore to be in fellowship and under shepherding of the saints in the local church, and also opened the door for many Christians to know and taste the ministry through their bookstore. 

This is a joyful testimony of the serving ones who have been graced to serve in coordination, oneness, and fellowship with the Body. This report is an answer to the Body's prayer, experienced by the unprofitable slaves who witnessed the works of the Holy Spirit, and are in fellowship with the brothers overseeing the Lord's work in India. Finally, the promising seekers who have been discovered were deferred to the co-workers for further follow-up shepherding and reaping for the Lord’s testimony. 

Prayer Burden

Pray for the Lord's continual shepherding of all these ones who have been enjoying the ministry for their growth in life and full recovery into the fellowship, oneness, and blending of the Body of Christ for the establishing of the local churches. 

Preserve Me, O God!

Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You. Psalms 16:1

The Psalmist had prayed for the Lord's preservation, being fully aware of his vulnerability to the attacked of the enemy that came through many channels. The attack could be physical, psychological, and spiritual. 

Today as I was studying the word of God on this Psalm, I was deeply impressed by the same prayer. In fact, this has been my prayer in a very intensified way ever since the pandemic struck last year. Despite all the precautions and SOPs rolled out by the government, the ultimate protection comes only from the Lord.  This, therefore, does not mean that I can be careless in taking care of my health. No. I must do all that I can, and still seek the Lord's protection. This prayer became very real and strong these days, especially in the ongoing second wave of Covid when many children of God have also been infected with it and a good number of them have succumbed to it already. 

Today morning a sister called me to inform me about two new ones, whom I met in one of the home meetings, who were very bothered by Covid as they themselves and their close relatives have been infected with it.  The call was an indirect conveying of a message to me that these ones needed shepherding and that I should shepherd them. This call reiterated and confirmed the need for the Lord's protection.

Observing the situation among the believers who are infected with Covid, one must be saved from any superstitious concept that Christians will all be automatically preserved. Well, that's not quite true. When pandemic struck, it struck all mankind alike as much as the sun shines and the rain falls on the good and the evil, the believers and the unbelievers, and both as men lives and also dies. That said, there is also a special provision for all the children of God. There is a special grace, special protection from harm and danger, even from the present pandemic. For this, one needs to pray for the Lord's protection, "Preserve me, O God!" This is in addition to taking all the precautionary measures, a man's responsibility in human cooperation with the divine protection.

At least twice, to my memory, saints who are serving under the Government of India have called me to check with me about my take on the Covid vaccination. My answere was simply, take it as it is physically needed, but our trust, hope, and faith is inthe Lord, not the vaccine per se. Having done all that are required to do, still our prayer should be, "Preserve me, O God!"

Yes, our body needs to be preserved, much more our soul and our spirit as well. God's purpose must be fulfilled in us and through, for this our body needs to be healthy, our soul transformed, and our spirit exercised. We need the Lord's preservation in our mind to be renewed becoming the mind of Christ, our emotion to love the Lord supremely, and our will becoming one with His will. We also need the Lord's preservation in our spirit, to be ever kept renewed and exercised moment by moment.

Yes, our body, our soul, and our spirit needs the Lord's preservation. For this we need to prayer, "Preserve me, O Lord!"

Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You. 

Monthly Ministry of the Word

I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.  John 4:38

The Lord has been sending us out to different parts of India for the introduction and distribution of the ministry of the word. Wherever He led us, He also prepared His chosen remnants who welcomed us and received the ministry books. These are the ones,  I personally believe, the Lord has given us. Though we did not labor on them from the preaching of the gospel up to where they are now in their spiritual growth, still they, as the children of God, are members of the Body of Christ as I am too,  and definitely need to be brought into the fellowship of the Body. Therefore, the verse in John 4:38 I apply to the service the Lord has sovereignly apportioned to the literature service where I am being graced to labor in coordination with other members of the Body. Yes, the Lord indeed has been sending us to reap where we have not labored previously; we entered to their labor and reap them for God's eternal purpose. "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

It was on the 13th of May, Thursday night that we fellowshipped to have a monthly fellowship with the seeking brothers in new localities who have started taking the way of the biblical standing on the ground of oneness as the local church in their localities. They have been first met through the ministry literature distribution. Some of them have been enjoying the ministry books for as long as ten years now. But for some reason, they have not yet been formally declared as established local churches.  Perhaps, the linking fellowship with the established local churches needs to be strengthened, and the oneness of the Body of Christ in fellowship has to be made more firm. This is one burden the Lord gave me, to hold at least a monthly fellowship to shepherd them into the fellowship and oneness of the Body of Christ.

Last weeks participants were the two brothers I have been praying with every Monday night from Dimapur, Nagaland; a brother who has been enjoying the ministry books for over a decade now from Champa, Chattisgarh where around five local churches are in fellowship; three brothers who have taken the stand on the ground of oneness in Khariar Road, Chattisgarh; a brother from Raipur, Chattisgarh; and two brothers who are taking the stand as the church in Shillong, Meghalaya. That was the first meeting we had, and we have agreed to have this every first Thursday of every month. Perhaps, more and more brothers and sisters may be brought into this fellowship.

The nature, standing, constitution, and fellowship of these local churches should be according to the Apostles' teaching in the Bible. For this, the influence of religion and Christianity must be gradually washed out for the sake of the purity of the church life. Prayer and the ministry of the word can do this work of purification. Therefore, the topic for this meeting is named, "Prayer and the Ministry of the Word." 

But we will continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word. Acts 6:4

Our corporate burden is to bring all dear brothers into the up-to-date speaking of the Lord in His recovery. Therefore, we are dwelling on the subject of one of the annual feasts on "The Intrinsic and Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ." 

May the Lord cause the intrinsic and organic building among us and among the churches these brothers are taking the stand for. May the Lord continue His work of recovery intrinsically and organically unto the fulfillment of His eternal economy.