Material Offering: A Blessing

On the 26th February, as the nation was celebrating it's republic day, as heavenly citizens of the Kingdom of God, we had a combined Lord’s Table Meeting in South Delhi and fellowshipped on the need for experiencing the Lord through material offerings to meet the need of the Lord’s move. As saints, we need to experience a breakthrough in material offering, in experiencing the Body of Christ, in the blending among the saints, and in participating in the Lord’s move.

My enjoyment of the ministry of the word from the brothers' fellowship are below:

Material Offering is one of the indicators for our growth in life. Some crucial significances of material offerings are:

Seizing Opportunity – Matt. 26:6-13 

Once we see the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, His preciousness, and His death and resurrection, like Mary, we should grasped the opportunity to anoint the Lord at the right time. We must apply the vision of the Lord we have seen by participating in His need at the right time. Offering for the need of the Lord’s work is seizing the opportunity. Whether such an offering is a waste or seizing an opportunity depends on what revelation we have concerning the Lord Jesus and His Body. Our consecration of our material offering is our seizing the opportunity.

Matthew 26: 7, A woman came to Him, having an alabaster flask of ointment of great value, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at table. 

Experiencing Grace – 2 Cor. 8:1-9, 9:6-7

2 Corinthians 8:2 That in much proving of affliction the abundance of their joy and the depth of their poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality; 

Offering is experiencing grace; the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

2 Corinthians 9:7 Each one as he has purposed in his heart, not out of sorrow or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. 

Passing through Test – Gen. 22:1-14 

Genesis 22:1-2 Now after these things God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham. And he said, Here I am. And He said, Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you. 

God does not need our material possession, but He needs us, especially our heart. For this, He often tests us as He tested Abraham. Abraham passed the test by his obedience to the Lord's word of testing. And we must hear the Lord’s word and by faith, offer to God what belongs to Him, and fear Him; revering Him, not offending Him, not losing His presence and His smile in this age, and not losing the reward in the coming age.

Inheriting Blessing – Gen. 22:15-18 

Genesis 22: 7 I will surely bless you and will greatly multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens and like the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. 

The issue of passing the Lord’s test is to inherit the blessing of God.

Makes us Overcomers for Entering into Eternal Tabernacle – Luke 16:9-13 

Luke 16: 9 And I say to you, Make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles. 

Make friends by using money for the sake of God’s economy. Offering money is for the divine purposes, taking care of God’s needs. When money fails, whatever you offered will be a reward to you, making you overcomer, receiving the kingdom reward.

Principle of Offering

Offering spiritually and secretly by not letting our left hand know what our left hand is doing. Our offering must be in secret. Therefore, we must offer willingly, not in any way of compulsion, and offer happily. And we offer universally by allowing the saints to participate in it, even young saints and children who do not have any income too.

In this way, we can participate in the work of the Lord and receive God’s blessings. 

In the meeting, I also discharged my burden for the offering, encouraging all the saints to offer our portion. I used the following verses to release my burden.

Offering for the physical building is our participation in the spiritual building.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33, RecVer)

Offering for the Lord’s work will always be rewarded by thenLord in the same.measyre and much more.

Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, they will give into your bosom. For with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you in return. (Luke 6:38, RecVer)

Offering will never make us poorer. For God knows our need and He will provide our needs not merely according to our needs but according to His riches.

And my God will fill your every need according to His riches, in glory, in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19, RecVer)

The truth is, everything that we have were given to us by the Lord. We only offer from what God blessed. And truly, it is more blessed to give than to receive.

In all things I have shown you by example that toiling in this way we ought to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35, RecVer)

During the consecration I wrote a certain amount as led by the Lord. My son also wrote what he felt was proper. At home, we fellowshiped and decided to offer all the amount the Lord burdened us to offer immediately to not let even the month January pass by. Once we were clear, the Lord also provided the money. Therefore, today the 29th Jan, the Lord graced us to offer the entire amount that He burdened us to offer, in one go. He is the source and we just receive from Him and offer it back to Him.

Praise the Lord!

Ministry of the Word Journey to Bengaluru and Hassan

The printing of the Kannada New Testament Recovery Version has ignited the burden in me to introduce and distribute it to the Kannada speaking Christians all over Karnataka. Taking this burden to the Lord in prayer and to the brothers in fellowship, I embarked on a two weeks long ministry journey to few select cities and towns. 

In Bengaluru itself before the actual journey began, the Lord sovereignly led me to meet a Christian leader during lunch time. As we introduced to each other, I also introduced the Recovery Version. His response was surprising. He invited me to introduce the same to the board members of his Christian organization the next day. Therefore, on the 10th Jan in Bengaluru at Palana Bhavan, I had the first formal introduction of the New Testament Kannada Recovery Version to a group of Christian leaders and they also bought a copy for themselves.

The following day in the fellowship of the brothers in Karnataka, the burden for the distribution was released and prayed for. And the Lord released some local brothers, and the plan for distribution was chalked out. Step by step, the Lord led us.

On the 12th Jan, we started the ministry journey to Hassan first, almost about four hours journey. A young couple received us and we introduced the Recovery Version Bible to them. The husband was very jealous for the Lord and made arrangement for our food and lodging. Through him, we were introduced to the only Christian bookstore owner in the town. When we met his owner on our way back from Chikkamangaluru, we spent time to carefully introduce the Recovery Version with some crucial texts and footnotes. We also used this opportunity to ministry life through the word to the owner and her son. They were so impressed by the truth that they immediately decided to purchase the Holy Bible in English and 25 copies of the Kannada New Testament Recovery Version.

Through this experience, the Lord confirmed His leading us and His presence all the way. This was also the firstime experience for one of the Kannada translators to participate in the distribution. He was a little hesitant when the distribution burden was made known to him first. But, with this experience, he received the burden and the courage to participate more in the distribution. I thanked the Lord that as I coordinated together with the local brothers, they also learn and began to pick up the burden for distribution. 

May the Lord gain His lovers and seekers in Hassan district through the ministry literature for His testimony.

Ministry of the Word in Belagavi

The ministry journey to Karnataka for this time came to a conclusion in the church in Belagavi. Here the brothers made a specially arrangement for all the saints to come together for fellowship. Since my time was limited just to an evening time of few hours, we could not meet any Christian leaders for the ministry books introduction. Rather, the Lord led me to minister to the saints His timely words. And the local brothers picked up the burden to carry on the work of ministry books introduction and distribution. This was also the Lord’s perfect arrangement. 

As we met for fellowship, I testified of how the Lord led us in our ministry literature journey to different parts of Karnataka. The saints were very encouraged by what the Lord has done. Then, we formally began the meeting by singing a hymn, 499 "Oh, what a life! Oh, what a peace! This hymn set the tone and the burden for the ministry of the word to the saints. Thus, the Lord blessed the fellowship with the rich ministry of life with the following verses being ministerd and expounded.

A Christian life is a life of living. 

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21, RecVer)

A normal Christian life is possible only by being crucified with Christ issuing in "no longer I but Christ who lives in me."

I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20, RecVer)

In our Christian for the church-life, coordination is crucial for the building up. Therefore, the self must be dealt with, without which coordination is impractical. To follow the Lord requires the denying of the self, the carry of the cross, and the losing of the soul life. For this, we must be joined in soul, thinking the same thing, being lowly in mind, and having the mind of Christ.

Make my joy full, that you think the same thing, having the same love, joined in soul, thinking the one thing, Doing nothing by way of selfish ambition nor by way of vainglory, but in lowliness of mind considering one another more excellent than yourselves; Not regarding each his own virtues, but each the virtues of others also. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 2:2-5, RecVer)

I exhort Euodias, and I exhort Syntyche, to think the same thing in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, genuine yokefellow, assist them, since they contended with me in the gospel, as well as with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. (Philippians 4:2-3, RecVer)

As Christians, we must daily exercise our spirit to walk by the Spirit in a general way. 

But I say, Walk by the Spirit and you shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16, RecVer)

As Christians, we must also walk by the Spirit with the specific goal of fulfilling God’s eternal purpose of building up of the church, the Body of Christ.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25, RecVer)

All spiritual experiences and enjoyment are for the one goal of accomplishing God’s heart's desire concerning the church for which coordination is a crucial matter.

Then, the saints testified of the Lord speaking to them concerning their timely need in the church there and the light and revelation they received afresh from the ministry of the word. We concluded the meeting by prayer. What a wonderful conclusion indeed for this ministry journey!

Praise the Lord!

Ambassador in Christ

For which I am an ambassador in a chain, that in it I would speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:20, RecVer)

As a saved sinner and a child of God, my Father God has given me a responsibility to accomplish His eternal plan. For this, He has chosen and called me. He has made me His ambassador! And He enabled me to speak boldy as I ought to speak. It is purely His mercy that I have been called and commissioned. And it is again His grace that enabled me to serve Him according to His plan. Therefore, my simple responsibility is, to be one with Him; open to Him for His leading, speaking, and move. 

In the past few weeks, I have been enjoying the special grace of God mingled with His reserved grace to cooperate with Him in His move in Karnataka. From the 6th to 24th of Jan, I was touring Karnataka. In the first weekend, there were fellowship and training, afterwhich, I journeyed for the ministry literature introduction and distribution.

The Lord granted me a couple of local Kannada speaking brothers to accompany me all the way, different brothers at different localities. We enjoyed our coordination and the Lord richly blessed the ministry journey. Wherever we went, the Lord’s presence came along. Whomever we met, the Lord's timely words were ministered to. Whatever we spoke, the Lord spoke in our speaking as it was evident in the feeling in our spirit and the response from the listeners. The Lord spoke in our speaking, the Lord ministered in our ministering. Every Christian leader or "Pastor" we met were so impressed by the truth revealed through the ministry literature, especially, the New Testament Recovery Version that we introduced. Many even prayed a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the ministry in addition to paying the price to buy the Recovery Version. Praise the Lord! All glory to God!

I believe, this is an experience and enjoyment of being the Lord’s ambassador to the people of this world. As for the "chain" Paul mentioned, I believe the chain for me is being yokefellow with the brothers the Lord gave me for coordination. So, I am the Lord’s ambassador in Christ in coordination.

Now, having accomplished this journey this time, the Lord will follow His speaking and the "seed of the ministry" sown would one day bear fruits, perhaps, a thirty fold, a sixty fold, or even a hundred fold. And He will gain Karnataka for His testimony. Karnataka will indeed be for Christ and the church!

Lord, continue to bless the people of Karnataka!

January, the 20th

Today, the 20th of January 2025, is significant in a couple of matters that concerns me. I believe, those are also what concerns the Lord. Three important things transpired at this very day.

First, five of our brothers who have been imprisoned since last September 2024 have finally been granted bail. We have been praying for this daily despite the prolonged and injustice done to us. After much prayers and waiting upon the Lord, the Lord has ordered the release of our five brothers.

Through this imprisonment, a couple of things have changed significantly. I trust, it's all for good, as I believe in God’s Word that, all things work together for good (Romans 8:28-29) for God to fulfill His plan in us and through us. 

The prayer life of the saints has been strengthened, the move of the Lord has become very intrinsic, and there has been a tremendous shake-up in the way we live our Christian life and practise our church life. And there also has been a change in the directorship of the literature service in India and the way we carry out the publication work. To me, all these are the works of the sovereign God, for our good and for the working out of His divine purpose in us and through us. To all these, I thank and praise the Lord. And in particular, I worship the ways of the Lord. 

He made His ways known to Moses; His acts, to the children of Israel. (Psalms 103:7, RecVer)

Second, my prayers for the world situation with a particular president of a super power nation has been fulfilled in that he has been sworn in. I am neither for the party nor the person, but as I understand the world situation, this was the way of God for Him to prepare for His coming again. What I have been praying for, has actually been answered in a practical way today. I may not be "politically correct" but I think I am, at least, "spiritually." My only concern even in this is, for the Lord’s move. I repeat, not for the party nor the person, but for the Lord’s move.

Third, as I have been praying for the peace of Israel, as of today, the Peace Agreement was signed between Israel and their enemy in the neighborhood and the first hostage deal was carried out. Though this process is a lengthy and risky process, at least, my prayers have been answered.

For there thrones are set for judgment, Thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Those who love you will prosper. Peace be within your bulwarks, And prosperity within your citadels. For my brothers’ and companions’ sake I will now say,  Peace be within you. For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God I will seek your good. (Psalms 122:5-9, RecVer)

For at least these three important transactions today, this day, the twentieth of January 2025,  was truly significant.

My faith in the living God has very much been strengthened, not that it was weak before, as He proved Himself God over and over again.

Praise the Lord for this day! The day on which my prayers have been definitely answered.

New Beginning 2025

As we met for the church blending today, the Lord led us to pray-read and memorize two verses on being renewed day by day and being in Christ, a new creation.

Therefore we do not lose heart; but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16

So then if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, they have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

The burden of being renewed in the mind through the renewing and nourishing word of the Lord was the Lord's speaking as we began our new year. Therefore, the church's burden of practicing the God-ordained way of preaching the gospel and begetting new ones, a life of pursuing the truth for our inward constitution, and strengthening our prayer life for the filling of the Spirit was all for the building up of the Body of Christ for the preparation of the Bride to bring the Lord Jesus back. This ministry of the word was substantiated by hymn #16 Our Father as the evergreen, and prayer for growth in life hymn #1132 Lord, teach us to pray, and hymn #1240 Deeper, deeper, in the cross of Jesus.

Based on Ephesians, we also delved into the matter of the grace of God given to all the saints in line with the talent the Lord gave to each one, at least a talent.

 

To one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability. And he went abroad. Matthew 25:15

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Ephesians 4:7

So, all the saints were exhorted to make use of the grace the Lord bestowed upon each one of them, at least the one talent, for the building up of the Body of Christ. All life practices are for the growth in life individually and corporately for the building up of the Body of Christ. There may be some gifted ones, and there may be the joint of the rich supply, but all these ones' function is to supply out from the Head Christ, through the gifted members, to the many members unto the building up of the Body of Christ. For this purpose, we are Christians practicing the church life on this earth today. Ultimately, to fulfill God's eternal purpose.

Ephesians 4:11-16

And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers, For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ, Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, That we may be no longer little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to a system of error, But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ, Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

Then, we concluded our blending with prayers for the renewal of our minds, for our growth in life, and for the building up of the church. And we all feasted together in love. May the Lord blend and build us up for His Body more and more this year 2025.

What a blessed blending-building beginning!

Blessings in 2024

 He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30

Generally, on the last day of the year, the 31st of Dec, we meet to share our testimony of God's blessing received during the whole year. This time, we encourage all the saints to prepare to share their top portion of blessing. As we met, all the saints, not one exception, shared the rich blessings they received from the Lord during the year. I rejoiced at learning about the experiences and enjoyment of the saints as they testified of what the Lord has been doing in their lives. Though outwardly we did not achieve the increase in the number of saints added to the church that we planned for last year, I definitely see a tremendous increase in the enjoyment and experience of Christ in the saints. I praise the Lord for the transformation work the Lord has been accomplishing in the lives of the saints in the church here. Despite the difficult situations we have been going through these days in North India, the Lord's hand and His blessings have been following us. Substantial growth in life and visible progress in the saints' lives have encouraged me a lot. To my own observation, the progress of the church has been satisfactory for the last year.

As for me, one experience that has been very significant is the increase of Christ and the decrease of my self. In many aspects of my life and service, the Lord has been stripping me layer by layer. My self has been touched so deeply that I could even feel the hurt it afflicted in me. The dealing of the self through the cross of Christ was wonderful yet it was also painful. But the grace of the Lord was also sufficient to enable me to bear the dealing of the self. To me, this is the greatest blessing of the year, the dealing of the self, resulting in Christ's increase and I decrease.

Besides, another blessing that I treasure is the beginning of my daughter and son learning to spend personal time in prayer. This year, the Lord graced my children to start going out for personal prayers, and that too regularly. With my son, we started to out together for prayers; first personal and then corporate. This year, this was started and I pray that we can continue to go out together for prayers regularly.

Another blessing noteworthy to me is our family trip to Singapore and Taiwan in the month of June. The Lord visibly manifested His loving care for our family in meeting all the practical needs of our family's foreign visits. He even provided a financial offering that my children could witness with their own eyes, the Lord's bountiful supply. This transpired in Singapore when we received offerings in Singapore Dollars and Taiwan Dollars. Then, in Taiwan, we received even more Taiwan Dollars and US Dollars. My children witnessed the Lord's provision in a visible way that strengthened their faith. I believe the Lord showed them the lesson of learning to live by faith, depending on the Lord for everything all the time, not depending on what we already have. This is a spiritual seed sown into the hearts of the children; letting them see a pattern of faith and living by trusting in the Lord.

Praise the Lord for the year 2024! As the church, we had a consecration prayer and we entered the new year 2025.

May this year be a continuation of the blessings received in the previous year. May the Lord continue to increase in me and that I may decrease until Christ fully saturates and gains me.