Does Economy Bother You!!!

You might be reading about the economy going down and people losing jobs across the globe and insecurity prevailing everywhere, may be, you might have been effected directly.

I remember the days when an elder brother reminded me of a Bible verse which comforted me then and even now and which made me to take a strong decision for Christ. Hope this experience of mine will renew your faith in God.

I came out of college in the year 2001 and the economy was down! No jobs, just few ads, people coming back from overseas after losing jobs. I was riding pillion with an elder brother and we were discussing about the job situation when he recited the verse Psalm 84:11 "యదార్ధముగా ప్రవర్తించువారికి ఆయన యే మేలును చేయక మానడు" (no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly)

Let the economy go down!, and every intelligent! and highly! educated person(s) than you may lose job(s), but when we walk upright before God, He will not keep us away from any good thing.

We need not go after fake! experience certificates, need no recommendations!, no thinking of backdoor! entries, JUST WALK UPRIGHTLY BEFORE GOD and the rest...you will see good things in your life.

ABEDNEGO INJETI

The Best Christmas Tree

Isaiah 11 (King James Version)
1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins

Prophecy Fulfilled
-> The prophet Isaiah lived about 700 years before Christ
-> Isaiah prophesies that a "shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse"
-> Jesse was the father of David, the king who inaugurated a royal dynasty of 20 kings that ruled 500 years, until Jerusalem fell in 586 B.C.
-> After 600 years, a king is born from Jesse's long-dormant stump
-> The shoot that rises from the stump of Jesse bears fruit; the childless king becomes the father of a greater nation than Abraham's
-> Isaiah 11:2–3 describes Jesus as the king with a sevenfold spirit
-> Because he possesses the infinitely perfect Spirit of God, Jesus knows what is going on deep within each person (Isaiah 11:3)
-> If there is a dead stump in your life, ask King Jesus to grow there

After years of exile, Israel longed for the coming Messiah. Isaiah prophesied that God would send a perfect king to restore his people. Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. He brought new life to the Davidic dynasty, as he was filled with the sevenfold Spirit of God. He came to teach justice and righteousness, and he will return again one day to judge all people. As we wait for his return, Christmas time provides the perfect opportunity to renew our loyalty to King Jesus.

Conclusion
-> Israel waited 600 years for their Messiah King, and by the time he came many had given up hope
-> We have been waiting all these centuries for our great king to come again
-> While we wait, this king reigns within our hearts and is quietly conquering hearts around us
-> Now is the time to renew our loyalty and trust in King Jesus

Simple Truth I Learnt

Each one of us as believers desire to do something for God, either by living a Godly life / by doing ministry / to regularly attend all Church meetings / to be a testimony / something for God

Over the years I have learnt a simple truth which I've put forth to practice ( still trying to ) which I would like to share with you. Hope it will be helpful in your spiritual life.

A saying(s) goes like this

in English - "Where there is a will, there is a way",

in Telugu - "మనసుంటే మార్గముంటుంది"

A Bible verse which gives similar meaning says "ఆశగల ప్రాణమును ఆయన త్రుప్తిపరచియున్నాడు" Psa 107:9 (For he satisfieth the longing soul)

We need not look out for opportunities to serve / live for God, all we need to have is just the "DESIRE" to serve / live for God. We need to be faithful in whatever place we are right now & use the opportunity to the fullest.

When we have the "DESIRE" God will provide us the "OPPORTUNITY / PROVISION"

God wants our AVAILABILITY not our ABILITY

ABEDNEGO INJETI

Strictly! NO bargaining

Mark 10 (King James Version)
17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

A young rich man comes to Jesus and straight away asks a very good question "What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"

Any other person in his place would have asked Jesus, "How to make more money?", "How to become popular?", "Make me smart and beautiful", etc.,

Jesus gives a straight reply telling him to obey the commandments and says, "One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me"

But this young rich man didnt expect that kind of answer, Bible says in v22, he "went away grieved"

RIGHT PLACE This rich young man goes to the place where Jesus was
RIGHT TIME he goes at a time when Jesus was at a particular place
RIGHT PERSON meets Jesus
RIGHT QUESTION asks him a question
RIGHT ANSWER gets an answer from Jesus
WRONG DECISION but he goes away grieved (he goes away as if he has lost something important in his life)

This kind of thing happens to each one of us in our lives, when we do everything right except the wrong decision in putting Christ in the drivers seat in our life.

A man could have bargained if a rich young man happens to visit any Church, Jesus didn't say "Hey come-on, don't go, first join my line, you can leave those things later"

Strictly! NO bargaining with God! if God tells you to do something, just do it! dont ever think that God will call you back and bargain

You might be reading this RIGHT MAIL at the RIGHT TIME of your life. Take a RIGHT DECISION today.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house Acts 16:31 (King James Version)

The Truth About Speaking In Tongues

- Zac Poonen

"Every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation (change)" (James. 1:17).

God never makes a mistake, He never changes and He gives only perfect gifts. Therefore when He gave the gift of "speaking in unknown languages" ("tongues") to the church on the day of Pentecost, He knew exactly what He was doing. The gift of "tongues" was a perfect gift. God has not changed His mind about the gift, for He never changes.

God knew the controversies that would surround this gift in the 20th century. Yet He felt the church needed this gift to fulfill its ministry.

Even major truths such as the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, the Humanity of Christ and the Person of the Holy Spirit have been opposed and have faced controversy in the history of Christendom. So it should not surprise us if the gift of "tongues" has been controversial too.

It is always best to stick exactly to what Scripture says on all doctrinal matters. Let us look then, with an unprejudiced mind, at every single verse in the Bible on the subject of "speaking in tongues":

Truth No. 1 Mark 16:17: [Jesus said,] "These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues... they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

Jesus said that some of the signs accompanying the company of "those who have believed" would be speaking in tongues, casting out demons and healing the sick. He did not say that ALL these signs would accompany EVERY believer. But He said that these signs would be found among the company of "those who have believed".

So every believer need not have all these gifts. Neither need every church have all these gifts. But they will be found in the whole church worldwide. The Holy Spirit sovereignly decides whom to give the gifts to.

Truth No. 2 Acts 2:4,7,11: "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance....... And the Jews from every nation marvelled saying....`We hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.'"

The first time that believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, they ALL spoke in tongues. The "tongues" were languages that others understood immediately. So there was no need for the gift of interpretation.

Notice also in verse 4 that it was the persons themselves who began to speak in tongues and not the Holy Spirit. The Spirit did not move their tongues. The Spirit only gave them utterance. They spoke themselves.

In no gift, does the Holy Spirit take away freedom of choice from us. In fact, the fruit of the Spirit is "self-control" (Gal.5:23). Only demon-possessed people lose control of themselves. One who is filled with the Spirit will have more control over himself than anyone else. "The spirit of the prophets is subject to the control of the prophets" (1 Cor.14:32).

Truth No. 3 Acts 10:46: "They were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God."
Here, in the house of Cornelius, all who were in his house were baptized in the Holy Spirit, at the same moment as they were converted to Christ. They spoke in "tongues" exalting God (praising Him) - not speaking to people, as was the case on the day of Pentecost.

Truth No. 4 Acts 19:6: "When Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying" The Holy Spirit came upon the believers in Ephesus, when Paul laid hands on them.

The "tongues" here seems to have been prophesying.
Note the following facts from the above instances in "Acts":(a) In Acts 2 they received the Spirit, after water baptism. In Acts 10, they received the Spirit BEFORE water baptism. (b) In Acts 2 and 10, they received the Spirit without anyone laying hands on them. In Acts 19, they received the Spirit after Paul laid hands on them. (This proves that there is no standard pattern for receiving the Spirit. It could be either before or after water-baptism, and also with or without the laying on of hands). (c) In Acts 8:14-18, when the disciples in Samaria received the Holy Spirit, there is no mention that they spoke in tongues. But Simon the magician did see some evidence (we are not told what it was) which made him want the same ability that Peter had.

Truth No. 5 1 Cor. 12:7,8,10: "But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit... to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues."

The gift of tongues is for "the common good" - the good of the church. This was written 25 years after the day of Pentecost. And the gift of tongues was still being given then by the Spirit "for the common good".

Truth No. 6 1 Cor.12:11: "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills".

This is perhaps the clearest Scripture that teaches that the Holy Spirit sovereignly decides to whom to give each gift (including the gift of tongues). We cannot dictate to Him whom He should give any gift to.

Truth No. 7 1 Cor. 12:28: "God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then... various kinds of tongues."

It is God Who appointed the gift of tongues in the church - for some purpose. So we should never oppose this gift, lest we be found opposing God. Remember that He has more wisdom than we have.

Truth No. 8 1 Cor. 12:30: "All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?"

All believers do not speak in tongues, just like all believers do not have the gifts of healing. So obviously, God does not feel that "tongues" is an essential gift for all believers - either for being holy or for being effective in His service. If it were, He would have given this gift to everyone.

Truth No. 9 1 Cor. 13:1: "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."

Speaking in tongues without love is useless. All pride in those who speak in tongues, and all "looking down" on others who don't speak in tongues is because of a lack of love. Such unloving believers who speak in tongues are as repulsive to God as a noisy gong is to us.

Truth No. 10 1 Cor. 13:8: "Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away."
When perfection comes at Christ's return, there will be no more need for speaking in tongues. In heaven, there will be no need for "tongues" - just like there will be no more need for Bible-knowledge or prophecy.

So "tongues" is a temporary gift needed only under the imperfect conditions prevalent on earth. This explains why Jesus never needed the gift of tongues. It was because His mind was perfectly pure and because He lived in perfect communion with His Father at all times,

Truth No. 11 1 Cor. 14:2: "One who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries."

The gift of tongues mentioned here is obviously different from the one manifested on the day of Pentecost - for this gift is not to "speak to men but to God" and no-one can understand what the speaker is saying.

Truth No. 12 1 Cor. 14:4: "One who speaks in a tongue edifies himselfThe gift of tongues enables a believer to build himself up spiritually.

Truth No. 13 1 Cor. 14:5: "I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying. But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what shall I profit you, unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or of knowledge or of prophecy or of teaching?"

Paul wished that ALL spoke in tongues. This is yet another verse that clearly indicates that all believers do NOT speak in tongues.

Paul's wish here is similar to his wish that ALL should be single like he himself was (as he states earlier in the same letter - 1 Cor.7:7). Paul saw some benefits in being single. He also saw some benefits in speaking in tongues. But Paul recognised that just as God was sovereign in giving the "gift of being single" only to some believers, He was equally sovereign in giving the "gift of tongues" also only to some believers.

Therefore it is as foolish to expect all believers to speak in tongues as it is to expect all believers to be single!!

In the church-meeting, it is far better to prophesy (that is, to speak God's Word "to encourage, edify and console" others - 1 Cor. 14:3). If however a 'tongue' is interpreted, then it is equal to prophecy.

Truth No. 14 1 Cor. 14:9,13: "Unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear (understandable), how will it be known what is spoken?...Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret." "Tongues" must be interpreted when used in a church meeting.

Truth No. 15 1 Cor. 14:14: "If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What is the outcome then? I shall pray with the spirit and I shall pray with the mind. I shall sing with the spirit and I shall sing with the mind."

When praying in tongues, a person cannot understand what he is praying. But Paul still felt that he should pray and sing "with the spirit" (in tongues), as much as he did with his mind (in a known language).

Truth No. 16 1 Cor. 14:18: "I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all." Paul was thankful to God for this gift. So it must have helped him.

Truth No. 17 1 Cor. 14:19: "However, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind, that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue."In the church, speaking in a known language is always the best.

Truth No. 18 1 Cor. 14:22: "Tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers"Tongues are for a sign to unbelievers - as on the day of Pentecost.

Truth No. 19 1 Cor. 14:23: "If therefore the whole church should assemble together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad?"
It is madness for all to speak in tongues in a church-meeting - for no one will understand what anyone is saying. (This must obviously be referring to people speaking in tongues individually and not when all are praying together - for in the latter case, we do not listen to the prayers of even those who pray in a known tongue.)

Truth No. 20 1 Cor. 14:26, 27: "What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and let one interpret;"

Not more than two or three should speak in tongues in a meeting of the church, but each "tongue" must be interpreted. "Interpretation" is not the same as "translation". Translation is "word for word". Interpretation is "expressing the thought in one's own words".

Truth No. 21 1 Cor. 14:39: "Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues."

This then is the conclusion. Don't forbid the exercise of the gift of tongues. But if you are desiring a gift, seek for the gift of prophecy more than for the gift of tongues.

The True And The Counterfeit

There is a certain amount of mystery about the gift of tongues, as all those who have received the gift will acknowledge - if they are honest. We do not know everything about it. We know only in part (1 Cor.13:12).

As one who has spoken in tongues for the past 26 years, let me add a few words concerning what I presently understand about the gift, from my own experience.

When a person speaks in tongues, his spirit (heart) speaks forth syllables (directly from his heart to his mouth, bypassing his mind) and thus he pours out whatever is in his heart to God - whether that be an overflow of joy or a burden caused by sorrow or discouragement. Thus the pressure on his heart is relieved. That is how he is 'edified'

As we saw earlier in Acts 2:4, when anyone speaks in tongues, it is the person himself who speaks, and not the Holy Spirit. The believer forms the syllables himself, just as he does when speaking in a known language. The only difference is that now, he does NOT use a known language to pray, but concentrating on the Lord, speaks forth syllables with his mouth, straight from his heart, bypassing his mind - knowing that God understands the longings and pressures in his heart, even if he cannot understand himself what he is saying.

Unburdening himself like that in moments of pressure helps a believer, especially if his mind is too tired to pray in a known language. We may not be able to explain how this works, but it does.
Let us now look at the gift of interpretation: As we have already seen, interpretation of a tongue is equivalent to prophesying. So this gift will usually be given by the Spirit to one who has the gift of prophecy as well.

In a church-meeting, if someone speaks in a tongue, one of those having the gift of prophecy (usually one of the elders), if he is walking in the light of God, will find a thought being impressed on his mind, if the "tongue" is genuinely from God. He speaks forth that thought in his own words - for it is not a translation, but an interpretation.

If another elder (who also has the gift of interpretation) had interpreted the "tongue", the interpretation would have been the same (although couched in that elder's own words). This would be the case if both elders were in perfect touch with the Lord.

Since no revelation from God can contradict what is written in the Bible, the interpretation will be in accordance with Scripture - just like all true prophecy will also be in line with the Scriptures.
Some who are sceptical of spiritual gifts have asked this question: If a "tongue" that was interpreted in a meeting, is copied on to a tape and someone else (with the gift of interpretation) in another p lace is asked to interpret it, will the interpretation be the same as the first one? The answer is: It should be, if both interpreters had a perfect understanding of the mind of the Lord. If the interpretation is different in content, (and not just in words), that would only indicate that one or both interpreters are not in such perfect touch with the Lord as to understand His mind perfectly.

That is not abnormal, because no believer in the world is in such perfect touch with the Lord as to know His mind perfectly.

The following example will prove this fact beyond any doubt: Suppose you have to speak in a meeting and you have a particular message on your heart which you feel is the burden of the Lord for that meeting. Then, if you are unable to be at that meeting and someone else speaks in your stead, strictly speaking, he should give the same message as you had on your heart (even if it be in his own words). If that brother doesn't give the same message as you had on your heart, it would indicate that one of you did not have a perfect understanding of the Lord's mind for that meeting. So we see that believers could fail such a test even when giving a message in a known language.

That's why the Bible tells us to judge even a prophet's message (1 Cor.14:29). Similarly, we should judge, all messages in "tongues" and their "interpretations". What should we judge in such cases? Just this: Whether our spirit witnesses that the utterance (prophecy, tongues or interpretation) was Scriptural (and from the Lord) or not.

We are warned (in 1 John 4:1) not to believe every spirit but to "test the spirits whether they are of God". So every time, we hear "tongues" or interpretation in public, we must test it in our spirits. Many of the "supernatural utterances" we hear may not be from God. We must always reject a prophecy (or any part of it), a "tongue", or an interpretation, if we feel uneasy about it in our spirits, for any reason.

It is the unquestioning acceptance of everything supernatural and abnormal that has brought tremendous confusion into Christendom in this century - and tremendous dishonor to the Lord's Name as well.

Notice these facts in all instances of speaking in tongues in "Acts" :
(a) In every case, the speaking in tongues was spontaneous;(b) In every case, all spoke in tongues - there were no exceptions;(c) In every case, there was no coaching or urging or instruction given on how to speak in tongues;

Today however, in most places, none of the above characteristics are found. Only where the gift of tongues is spontaneously received without any coaching, can we conclude that it could be genuine.
Of all the "speaking in tongues" that I have heard, my spirit has borne witness to only a small percentage of it as genuine. Most of the rest I have felt was an attempt to imitate the gift - either to be accepted by others in a group or to impress them. A small percentage could even be of demonic origin. My observations are based on the fruit and the results that I have seen in the lives of many people in many lands. Speaking and singing in tongues often appears to be a form of "exhibitionism" in many churches - and exhibitionism is characteristic of little children.

It is also a well-established fact that, at this present time, the maximum exploitation of believers for financial gain is practised by those preachers and pastors who claim to "speak in tongues". Most of the cults in the 20th century have also developed from tongue-speaking groups.

My advice to all believers therefore is: "Avoid churches that major on the gifts of tongues and healing - because many of them go to dangerous extremes and usually don't have spiritually-minded leaders. Seek instead for fellowship with a church that emphasises holiness and disciple-making primarily, that accepts the genuine gift of tongues and that does not covet your money or seek to control your life."
Let me also emphasise that we need to use our mind (renewed by the Holy Spirit) if we are to understand God's will and His Word aright (Rom.12:2). Many believers tend to despise their minds. Our mind is to be like a wife. She should not be the head of the home. But she should not be killed either!!

Jesus is our husband and head. Our mind should be submissive to Him through our heart.
In a nutshell then, here is a bit of sane advice on "tongues":

"If God gives you the gift of tongues, receive it and exercise it. Speak forth the syllables from your heart to God when you are alone with Him - anywhere - and especially when your heart is under pressure (through discouragement) or overflowing with joy. If you don't have the gift, don't worry about it. But be open to the Lord to receive it, at all times. Don't be against it and don't get into a frenzy to receive it. God will give it to you, if He wants you to have it, without any frenzy on your part. At the same time, don't believe that everything you see and hear in Christendom is inspired by the Holy Spirit. Test everything. Use your God-given faculties of discernment. If you don't have the gift of tongues, don't consider yourself inferior to those who have it. And if you do have the gift, don't imagine that it makes you spiritual or superior to those who don't have it. (Paul and the Corinthian Christians both spoke in tongues. But Paul was a spiritual giant, while the Corinthians were carnal!!)."

What Is Absolutely Essential

What is absolutely essential for all of us is to be endued with the Holy Spirit's power. It is power, and not speaking in tongues that is the evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).

The Holy Spirit is to be received by faith (Jn.7:37-39), just as we received the forgiveness of our sins - on the basis of Christ's merit alone, and not on our own merit. We do not receive the Gift of the Spirit by fasting or praying or by any other work. He is a Gift (Acts 2:38).

We ask and receive - immediately by faith - and go forth believing in God's promise that He gives the Holy Spirit more readily to those who ask Him, than any earthly father would give food to a hungry son (Lk.11:13). If we are unsure about having received the Spirit, we can ask God to give us an assurance. He will not deny us such an assurance.

But we need to be filled with the Spirit continually (because we are leaky vessels - Eph.5:18), just like we need to be forgiven continually (because we sin - often without knowing it - Matt.6:12).
The devotion of our heart to Christ is far more important than our speaking in tongues. "Do you love Me more than everything else?", was our Lord's question to Peter, before commissioning him for His service. Arguments about "speaking in tongues" are therefore a diversion arranged by Satan to sidetrack believers from total devotion to Christ.

The greatest Christians in the world have been those who loved the Lord Jesus supremely - whether they spoke in tongues or not. Some like Peter, James, John and Paul spoke in tongues. Others like John Wesley, Charles Finney, D.L.Moody, A.B.Simpson, William Booth, C.T.Studd and Watchman Nee never spoke in tongues (as far as we know). But they all received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, they all loved the Lord with all their hearts and they ALL walked the way of the cross. These truths were central in their lives. Other things were secondary.

Let us follow their example and we won't go wrong..

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Christian Vaasthu

A woman in a village gave a prayer request to a Pastor requesting him to pray as she is planning to buy a home facing east :)

Woman : Pastor, am planning to buy a home, please pray

Pastor : That's good news sister, I will add this request to my prayer list

Woman : Pastor, please pray so that I can buy a home which is facing east

Pastor : Oh! Why do you want to buy a home which is facing east?

Woman : Pastor, as its written in the Bible that God commanded Solomon to build His temple facing east

Pastor : Ah! Sister! God told us "how to build His home" and "not how to build our homes"

Woman : :(

Lesson : Bible is not a book of specific rules & its very easy to wrongly interpret the word of God. Seek God's wisdom to understand the scriptures

The True Gospel And The False

- Zac Poonen

Christians are generally speaking, categorized into two groups as follows:
(1) "Roman Catholics" and "Protestants" - depending on birth.
(2) "Episcopal" (conformist) and "Free church" (non-conformist) - depending on church-pattern.
(3) "Born again Christians" and "Nominal Christians" - depending on an "experience";
(4) "Evangelicals" and "Liberals" - depending on doctrine.
(5) "Charismatics" and "Non-charismatics" - depending on "speaking in tongues".
(6) "Full-time Christian workers" and "Secular workers" - depending on profession.

There could be other such categorizations too. But none of these categorizations deal with the root of the problem that our Lord came to solve.

Many know that "Christ died for our sins" (1 Cor.15:3). But many do not know that the Bible says that Christ also died "that we should no longer live for ourselves but for Him" (2 Cor.5:15).

A more Scriptural way of categorizing Christians therefore would be as follows:
(1) "Those who live for themselves" and "Those who live for Christ"; or
(2) "Those who seek their own" and "Those who seek the things of Christ" or
(3) "Those who seek earthly things first" and "Those who seek the kingdom of God first"; or
(4) "Those who love money" and "Those who love God". (Jesus said it was impossible to love both -Lk.16:13)

But I have never heard of such a categorization being used. This categorization deals with the Christian's inner life and private walk with God, whereas the methods mentioned earlier deal with the external details of his life. Yet it is in this latter way that heaven categorizes Christians. And if that be the case, then this is the only categorization that matters! In this method, others cannot categorize us. We have to categorize ourselves - for no one but we ourselves know our inner motivations and desires. Even our wives may not be aware what we are living for.

Our Lord did not come primarily to give people a doctrine, or a church-pattern or to make them speak in tongues or even to give them an experience!

He came to "save us from sin". He came to lay the axe to the root of the tree. And the root of sin is : Being centered in ourselves, seeking our own and doing our own will. If we do not permit the Lord to axe and uproot this "root" from our lives, we will be Christians only superficially. Satan may however deceive us into imagining that we belong to a higher class than other Christians, because of our doctrine or our experience or our church-pattern!

Satan doesn't care even if we have the right doctrine, experience and church-pattern, so long as we continue to "live for ourselves" (This, by the way, is just another phrase for "living in sin"!!). Christendom today is filled with Christians who seek their own and live for themselves, who are yet convinced that God views them as superior to other Christians, merely because of doctrinal differences or church-pattern or "experiences". This shows what a great work Satan has succeeded in doing in Christendom.

In John 6:38, our Lord said that He came from heaven to earth:(1) To deny His human will (that He had acquired, when He came to earth as a Man), and (2) To do the will of His Father, as a Man. Thereby He became our example.

Throughout Jesus' earthly life -- during all His 33½; years - He denied his own will and did His Father's will. And He told His disciples clearly that those who wanted to be His disciples would have to go the same way. He came to hit at the root of sin in our lives - "doing our own will" - and to deliver us from that.

In the realm of science, for thousands of years, man made the mistake of imagining that the earth was the center of the universe. It looked like that to human eyes - because the sun, moon and stars did indeed appear to be revolving around the earth once every 24 hours. It took the courage of a man like Copernicus to question this popular notion, just about 500 years ago, and to show that it was utterly false and that the earth was not even the center of the solar system, leave alone the universe. The earth, he showed was created to be centered in the sun. As long as man had the wrong center, his scientific calculations and deductions were wrong - because his center was wrong. But once man discovered the right center, then these calculations and deductions turned out right.

It is the same with us when we remain "self-centered" instead of being "God-centered". Our understanding of the Bible and of God's perfect will (our calculations and deductions) will then be wrong. But just as men were convinced for over 5000 years that they were right (as we saw above), we too may imagine that we are right! But actually, we will be 100% wrong.

This is what we see even among many "good Christians" today. They have so many different interpretations of the same Bible - and yet each one is convinced that his interpretation alone is right and everyone else's is wrong. The others, they will say are "deceived". Why is this so? Because they've got their center wrong.

Man was created to be centered in God and not in himself. And when Christians have got their center wrong, their "gospel" will be wrong too. Basically, there are only two gospels being preached today - one man-centered and the other God-centered.

The man-centered gospel promises man that God will give him everything he needs to make his life on earth comfortable and will also give him a seat in heaven at the end of his life. Man is told that Jesus will forgive all his sins, heal all his diseases, bless and prosper him materially, solve all his earthly problems, etc., etc.

Self still remains at the center of such a man's life, and God revolves around him - as his servant - to answer his every prayer and to give him whatever he wants!! All that he has to do is "believe" and "claim every material blessing in Jesus' Name"!!

This is a false gospel, because no mention is made of "repentance". Repentance is what John the Baptist, Jesus, Paul, Peter and all the apostles preached first of all. And repentance, unfortunately, is what is not preached today, even last of all!!

The God-centered gospel, on the other hand, calls upon man to repent. It explains that "repentance" means:

Turning FROM Self as the center of one's life, from doing one's own will, from walking along one's self-chosen way, from loving money, and from loving the world and the things in the world (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life), etc., and

Turning TO God, loving Him with one's whole heart, making Him the Centre of one's life and doing His will henceforth etc.,

Faith in Christ's death on the cross can forgive a man his sins only when he has repented. Then he can receive the power of the Holy Spirit empower him to deny himself daily so that he can live a God-centered life. This is the gospel that Jesus and the apostles preached.

The false gospel makes the gate wide and the way broad (easy to walk along, because one does not have to deny one's Self or stop living for one's own interests or stop seeking one's own gain). Millions attend meetings where such a false "gospel" is preached. And many enter through this gate and walk along this way, imagining that it leads to life. But it actually leads to destruction. The evangelists of this gospel however gloat in, and report about the large numbers of people who "raised their hands and made decisions for Christ" in their meetings!! But it is all a deception. Although some are indeed genuinely converted in such meetings, because of their sincerity, many such "converts" end up becoming "twofold children of hell" (Matt.23:15) - deceived about their true state.

The true gospel however, makes the gate small and the way narrow - not smaller or narrower than Jesus Himself made it, as some "super-spiritual" cultists do, but just the same size as Jesus made it. Few there be, that find this way to life. There is not much for the evangelists of this gospel to report about, and the statistics are not impressive. But this gospel leads people to the Lord Jesus and to heaven.

"Be careful how you listen. Whoever obeys what he has heard, to him more light and understanding will be given. But whoever does not obey what he has heard, even what light and understanding he thinks he has will be taken away from him." (Paraphrase of Luke 8:18).

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Divine Principles for a Happy Married Life

- Bakht Singh
SCRIPTURE TEXT: Gen. 1: 26-28; Gen. 2: 18-32; John 12: 1-3, 16-24; Eph. 5:17-33

Going by the Word of God there are eight fundamental divine principles to be followed to make any marriage a source of much blessing, not only to those who are joined as life-partners, but also to others who come in touch with them. For a healthy body we need fresh air, good water, good food and physical exercise. For a rich harvest, we need good soil, manure, water, removal of weeds and protection from pests. Similarly, for a happy married life there are eight divine principles.

1. GOD'S PERFECT WILL
2. DIVINE LOVE
3. HEADSHIP OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
4. THE POWER OF RESURRECTION
5. TRUE FELLOWSHIP
6. JOYFUL SERVICE
7. WORSHIP UNTO THE LORD
8. THREEFOLD UNION

Read the complete book @ http://www.brotherbakhtsingh.org/PDF%20files/married.pdf

HOW TO FIND GOD’S WILL

- Bakht Singh
Sevenfold importance of knowing God’s will
(1) For Revealing The Life Of Our Lord Jesus
(2) For Knowing The Doctrine Of God
(3) For Our Prayer Life
(4) For The Enjoyment Of God’s Love
(5) For Growing Into Spiritual Maturity
(6) For Enjoying The Power Of God
(7) For Leading A Fearless Life
Seven Conditions to be fulfilled before we can find God’s will
(1) Willingness To Learn
(2) Willingness To Die To One’s Own Will
(3) Delight In Doing God’s Will
(4) No Confidence In One’s Own Understanding
(5) Perfect Confidence In God’s Will
(6) Willingness To Keep Our Bodies Clean
(7) Willingness To Have A Renewed Mind
Sevenfold evidences of having found God’s will
(1) Peace
(2) The Word Of God
(3) Witness Of Fellow-Believers
(4) Boldness
(5) Fulfillment Of A Sign
(6) Glory To God
(7) Blessing To Others
Read the complete book @ http://www.brotherbakhtsingh.org/PDF%20files/God_s_Will.pdf

My Style Of Preaching

- Zac Poonen
God, in His great wisdom, decided that He would save people by “the foolishness of preaching” (1 Cor.1:21-KJV). Preaching God’s Word is therefore the greatest work that any human being can be engaged in. I feel greatly honoured that God called me to this ministry. But preaching is also the one ministry that has been abused the most, by money-loving preachers and deceivers.

We are commanded to seek earnestly for the gift of prophecy (which is the gift of preaching in such a way as to encourage, challenge and build up people – 1 Cor.14:1,3). So I began to seek God for this gift as soon as I was baptized in water. And when God anointed me with the Holy Spirit, He gave me this gift as well. In the beginning, I was tempted to try and impress people with my preaching and to move them emotionally. But one day the Lord asked me, “Do you want to help people or do you want to impress them.” I said I wanted to help them. Then the Lord said, “Then don’t try to impress them.” It was not easy to overcome the temptation to impress people, but I fought against it, and gradually overcame it.

Each preacher has his own particular style of preaching. Most Indian preachers imitate American charismatic preachers. I decided that the best thing for me would be to pattern my preaching after Jesus’ style of preaching. So I studied the way Jesus preached.

The first thing I saw about Jesus was that He preached only what He had already practised. He did first and then taught (Acts 1:1). So His preaching always had a practical application. I knew that the Bible commanded me to “prophesy only according to the proportion of my faith” (Rom.12:6) – in other words, only up to the level of my spiritual experience. But I failed here, because I fell a prey to the temptation to impress people. And so, I ended up in a backslidden condition for some years. But God was merciful to me and filled me with the Holy Spirit again in January 1975 and restored me. I decided then, that I would preach thereafter only what I had already practiced and experienced, or (at least) what I was earnestly seeking after. God then took me through varied trials in order to teach me His ways and how to trust Him in difficult situations. Thus I grew in faith and wisdom – and I could pass on this faith and wisdom to others through my preaching.

Secondly, Jesus always preached in the power of the Holy Spirit. When He walked with the two disciples to Emmaus, He preached to them for two hours and their hearts burned within them throughout those two hours. I kept this example before me and wanted to preach like that every time. A chicken-leg taken out of the freezer is totally unappetizing. But the same leg when cooked on a fire makes everyone’s mouth to water. That is the difference between cold truth and the same truth preached with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Utter dependence on the anointing of the Holy Spirit therefore became primary in all my preaching. I depend on God every time I speak to anoint me, so that my words will set people’s hearts on fire.

Thirdly, Jesus spoke primarily to people’s minds and not to their emotions. His preaching challenged people and convicted them and stirred them to faith and obedience. He never whipped up their emotions the way many preachers do nowadays. We are told to love God with all our hearts and also with all our minds. I felt that all my messages must be like well-cooked meals – both nourishing and tasty!! So I needed to take more pains in preparing a sermon than any housewife ever took to prepare a good meal. A good housewife also lays out her meal in an attractive way. I also needed to arrange my thoughts clearly, before I preached. Many preachers do not do this – and end up wasting people’s time by wandering around in their preaching. God is a God of order (1Cor.14:33,40) – and He is glorified when a message is presented in an orderly, understandable way.

Fourthly, Jesus had the right word for each occasion because of two reasons: He listened to His Father constantly (Isa.50:4) and He had a great love for people. So I studied God’s Word in all my spare moments to know God’s mind accurately. To understand the Scriptures, many preachers study Hebrew and Greek. But I saw that what I needed was not a knowledge of these languages, but the revelation of the Holy Spirit, since He was the Author of the Word. The Holy Spirit taught me many glorious truths from His Word that I never heard from any human being. These truths led me to a close walk with God and saved me from the deceptions and counterfeits that are flooding Christendom today. The Spirit then enabled me to teach these truths to others. The Holy Spirit also flooded my heart with love and compassion for His people (Rom.5:5). Thus my ministry gradually became one of encouragement and conviction, and not one of legalism and condemnation.

Fifthly, Jesus’ preaching was always interesting - and never boring. It is a sin to waste people’s time. Most preachers don’t realize that stealing people’s time is just like stealing their money. If we bore a congregation of 200 people for just 15 minutes, we have thereby robbed them of 50 man-hours of their time. If their average wage is Rs.50 per hour, we would thus have stolen Rs.2,500 from them in those 15 minutes. So I prayed to God that He would help me to preach in an interesting way and never bore anyone. In the early days, I could do this only for short periods of time. So I spoke only briefly then. As I grew in the knowledge of the Lord, I could speak for longer periods of time.

Sixthly, Jesus used many simple illustrations to make His message clear. He spoke about bread, fishes, birds, trees, flowers, pearls, farmers, buildings, etc., His simple illustrations made the deep truths He spoke about, much easier to understand. He did not seek to get a name for himself by using complicated illustrations that only clever people could understand. I sought to follow Jesus’ example here too. At times, I would look at some of the least educated people sitting in my church, and speak at their level. Then I found that my messages could be understood by everyone. I would ask little children after my preaching, whether they had understood what I had said. If they had not, then I knew that my preaching had to become still more simple.

Seventhly, Jesus used humor and exaggeration at times. He spoke of a camel going through a needle’s eye, of people straining out mosquitoes and swallowing camels, of those who had big logs in their eyes while looking for specks in the eyes of others – and thus He exposed hypocrisy and spiritual pride. Humour can sharpen a message and make it interesting, just like spices can add taste to food. Some preachers however go to an extreme in this, and try to make people laugh all the time (just to get a reputation for humor). Such preachers become like circus-clowns! I never use humour in my messages to entertain people – but only to keep them attentive during a long message, or to drive home a point.

Eighthly, Jesus repeated His messages many times. He did not seek for the honour that one can get, by preaching something new or fanciful on each occasion. People need to hear the same truth many times before they can be gripped by it. So I decided that I would not try to impress people by preaching something new in every message, but would repeat a message many times, until people were gripped by that truth. But every time I repeated a message, I would seek to present it in a fresh way, as led by the Spirit.

Ninthly, Jesus spoke without using notes. Because His walk with the Father was so close and intimate, the Spirit gave Him words to speak, even while He was preaching. Most preachers cannot speak like that, because they do not walk so close to God. And so it is best for 99% of preachers to prepare their messages carefully and to use written notes, if they want to preach effectively. That was how I started. But nowadays, I speak most of the time without using any notes. But when taking a Bible-study, I still use notes and write down the verses so that I don’t forget any point. So I’m not a slave to either using, or not using notes, since neither of these methods is more spiritual than the other. If anyone wants to speak effectively without using notes:
1. He should have walked with God for many years, so that he can speak from his life’s experience.
2. He must be living under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and have the supernatural gift of prophecy.
3. He must know the Bible well, so that he knows what it teaches on any subject.
4. He must have a good memory, so that he knows where to find verses on any topic.
5. He should have good communication skills so that he can hold people’s attention for the entire length of his message.
If anyone doesn’t have all these five qualities, then it is better for him to use notes when preaching.

Finally, Jesus never shouted while preaching (Matt.12:19). Nor did He say “Hallelujah” every now and then in His messages. I have followed Jesus’ example here too. When preachers shout in their preaching, it is not the fire of the Holy Spirit usually, but just their soulish attempts to manipulate people; and their “Hallelujah”s are merely a habit or “time-fillers”, while they are thinking of what to say next!

In my preaching, I sought to get people to obey God’s Word and to take up the cross daily and follow Jesus – and not just to move them emotionally for a short time. The goal of my preaching has been “to present every man perfect in Christ” (Col.1:28,29; 1 Tim.1:5).

The Personal Testimony of Brother Bakht Singh

How I Got Joy Unspeakable and Full of Glory

"You have not chosen me but I have chosen you and ordained you" John 15:16
By these words the Lord is definitely pointing out that he takes first step in choosing. We do not knowHim first; and it is only when we accept Him as our Lord and Saviour that we understand this mystery.
I would like to tell you how the Lord chose me. I was very bitter against the Gospel of Christ. Though I was educated in a mission high school in the Punjab and spent seven years there, I never cared to know any thing about Christ. Most of us boys who were studying in the school hated Christians, and we used to make fun of Bible teachers and pastors. For five years I was in the boarding house. The Hindus and the Mohammedans lived on one side and the Christians on the other. During my five years' stay in that boarding, house I do not think I ever' visited the Christian side. That will give you some idea of my bitterness towards Christianity. I do not remember what I learned in those days, but I recollect that I used to hate the Christian boys who were studying with me. Most of us Hindu boys had a similar hatred against Mohammedans. But while with Mohammedan boys we used to play and talk freely, I do not think we ever made friends with Christian boys.
Once I had a beautiful Bible given to me after I had passed my Intermediate examination. I tore away the contents and kept the cover because of the beautiful leather binding. Throughout my school and college days I remained a bitter enemy of the Gospel of Christ. I was very orthodox in my own religion and spent many hours in the Sikh temples observing all the religious rites. Some of you may know that the Sikhs are well known for social service. I also took an active part in such work but I cannot say that I ever got any real joy in observing such rites or doing such service.
During my school days I used to have a dream. The Dream was that I was climbing a high and steep hill. With great difficulty and struggle I would reach the top. As soon as I reached it, somebody would come along and hurl me down. As I fell, the sharp points of the rocks would dig into my ribs. Thus I would be in great pain, so much so that I would cry out in my dream. But in the end I would find myself lying on soft silk cushions, so soft that I would sink into them. This lying on soft cushions would give me a heavenly feeling and I would say that, if one could get such joy on silk cushions, it was worth undergoing all the pain endured while falling down. When I was at the age of nine or ten I used to have this dream, but about six years ago this dream came to me, again, and the Voice said to me, "This is your testimony."
Like every schoolboy, I had many ambitions and ideas. Some of them were very high and some of them low, some of them noble and some of them base. With all humility I can say that I realized all my ambitions and desires. It is saying much, but there is not a single desire that I have not satisfied. My efforts and plans to satisfy my desires can be compared to my climbing this steep hill. But at every self-satisfaction and self-realization I was disappointed and disillusioned. So the disappointments and disillusionment represent my fall from the top of the hill. But the day came in my life when I experienced the joy of lying on the soft silk cushions and that day was when the Spirit and the life of Jesus Christ entered into my life.
My ambitions in life had been to go to England, travel around the world, obtain high education, enjoy the friendship of all kinds of people and remain faithful to my religion. Similarly I had a desire to wear smart clothes and eat high class food. I did not have these desires at an early age but they came later on and I was able to satisfy them all.
My father was not at all in favour of my going to England. He told me that he would give me any amount of money as he wanted me to help him in his business. He had set up a new cotton factory and he told me that he was counting on me, as the eldest son, for help. But I would say that I must go to England. After my B.A. examination I became very sad because my father would not let me go to England and nothing else would satisfy me. We were six brothers and my mother loved me more than any other of her children. So she said, " I will help you to go to England but promise me that you will not change your religion." I said to my mother, "Do you really believe that I would change my religion?" as at that time I was very proud of my Sikh religion. When I assured her about my loyalty and faithfulness she persuaded my father to let me go. My father being a business man was thinking in terms of money; my mother being a religious person was thinking in terms of religion. My father, however, said that he would try and send me all the money I needed and I promised that I would live very economically.
In September 1926, I reached England and joined the Engineering College in London for the Mechanical Engineering Course. When I got there I discovered that one could live very comfortably on eighty rupees a month. So I asked my friend why he wrote to me to come prepared to spend Rs. 300 a month. I said I was going to write to my father not to send me more than Rs. 80 a month. My friend said to me, "Don't be hasty. You wait for a few months and you will learn all about it." So I accepted his advice. With the result that I had to send false accounts. I used to write to my father, "I have spent Rs. 295.56 this month", even though I spent only eighty rupees. Thus for seven months I was able to save sometimes Rs. 200, sometimes Rs. 250 a month and I remember I had at the end of the period Rs. 1600 in the bank.
For the first three months in England I remained faithful to my religion. I kept my long hair and beard because the Sikhs never get their hair cut from any part of the body. Then I lost faith in keeping a long beard and hair but did not have the courage to get them cut. So I kept them on for six months, because I was afraid of what my friends would say if my beard were shaved, At last I thought of a solution. I said to a friend of mine that I would get them cut gradually, some that day, some the next day and in a month time all of it, I thought that by this means I would not feel embarrassed but what he did was to cut the beard from one side and leave the other half. So I said to him, "You may as well cut all". When I became clean - shaven I became an atheist, a socialist and a free thinker, and I said I would soon become a full-fledged European. Then I started smoking though as a Sikh I had never touched tobacco, I began to purchase expensive cigarettes and bought a gold case, and took great pride in showing the golden cigarette case to everyone. The next thing I did was to learn the use of liquor. I used to have very expensive clothes and spent Rs.400 for a suit, as much as Rs.35 for a shirt, Rs.20 for a tie and Rs.50 for a pair of shoes. Thus my savings of seven months I spent in one month. I learned then why my friend said no to be hasty.
With great difficulty I learned all the Western customs and manners. Although I never relished their food, yet I learned to eat with a knife and fork. I was regular in visiting theatres, cinemas and dancing halls. I had to master everything, or, in other words, do as they did and live as they lived. I lived like this for about two years. Just as I was finishing my course I asked myself a question, "What have I gained in England?" I knew I had learned to wear a collar and tie, to polish my shoes, to brush my hair and to say "Thank you" and "I am sorry" many times a day, because the more you say "Thank you" and "I am sorry" the more you are considered to be cultured. I had learned to be fashionable and to drink as they drank; in other words, I had learned how to worship my body. Then I began to ask the question," Am I more happy than I used to be?" But the state in my mind told me that I was far worse, for I had become selfish, proud and greedy. The respect towards parents and friends was -one. I had learned to tell lies politely and to deceive my parents. I had learned that one could do evil, provided he did it secretly.
I had travelled all over Europe and England; had been to museums, art galleries and picture palaces; had worn expensive clothes; had eaten grand meals; had made friends with rich and poor, high and low; had taken part in social functions; had indulged in amusements; had acquired as much education as I wanted; yet I was unhappy. Then I thought perhaps it was due to the fact that I was not fully civilized. So I began to ask my English friends; "Are you happy?" I asked this question of students, professors and clerks I used to say, "You have cot beautiful homes, lovely children, extensive parks, and can get almost anything for bodily comforts. Are you Happy?" Still I could not come across any one who was really happy. So I said to myself that the whole world is "vanity of vanities". I used to think if India were civilized it would become a heaven, and that education and sanitation would remove all evils from India. Now I saw that England could not get rid of her evils by education and sanitation. Rather I saw far more evils in England than in India. So I was convinced that culture and education could not solve this problem. I used to consider the question in this manner: A poor man in India uses a dirty rag, to cover his wound, while a rich man in England conceals his wound with bandage beautifully white and three yards long, which however, cannot remove the pus and the dirt underneath.
In the year 1928 a party of students was going, to Canada on a holiday trip. I wanted to go with the party but the secretary would not let me go. He said that the Americans did not know how to treat the Indians. So he advised me not to go with the party. I told him I was prepared for any kind of treatment and joined them on the ship, determined to show that I could do whatever they did. As there was a big party on board they had all kinds of amusements and I began to take part in all these functions. On the 10th of August, 1928, I saw a notice showing that a service would be held in the first-class dining saloon at noon. I said to myself that as my friends and companions would be going to the service. I should also go but a fear came to me, as I had never been to a church before. But I said to myself that I had been to picture palaces, dancing and drink saloons and they had done me no harm. So I thought a Christian place of worship too would do no harm. Moreover, I had heard that the first class dining saloon was a grand place, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to see it. So convincing myself with these arguments I went and occupied one of the back seats. When they all stood up to sing hymns I stood up too, and when they sat down I sat down too, and when the preacher began to preach, I went to sleep as I did not want to listen. When the sermon was over they all knelt down to pray and I was the only person who kept sitting in the chair. I said, "These people do not know anything about religion. They have exploited my country and I have seen them eating and drinking. What do they know? After all my religion is the best religion." So my national, intellectual and religious pride prevented me from kneeling and I wanted to go out. But I found one man kneeling on the right and another on the left and I said it would not be right for me to disturb them. Still I could not kneel. Then I began to say, "I have been to Mohammedan mosques and Hindu temples. I have taken off my shoes and washed my feet to show respect for those places. I must honour this place too out of courtesy." So breaking my national pride, I knelt down.
Please note that this was the first time I was attending a Christian service. I had never read the Bible before nor had anyone spoken to me about salvation. When I knelt down I felt a great change coming over me. My whole body was trembling. I could feel divine power entering into me and lifting me up. The first change that I noticed in me was that a great joy was flooding my soul. The second change was that I was repeating the name of Jesus, I began to say, "Oh, Lord Jesus, blessed be The name, blessed be Thy name." The name Jesus became very sweet to me. Before, I used to despise the very name, and during discussions and conversations I had made fun of it. Another change I found was that I felt one with Europeans. During my stay in London I never felt their equal, Sometimes I was their superior, sometimes their inferior, When I used to talk to the English people I felt superior. I used to say that I belonged to an ancient country havina an ancient culture; but when I used to talk to Indians I felt inferior saying that we did not know how to cat or dress properly. But this was the first time I was feeling quite their equal.
I stayed for three months in Canada, We travelled a great deal and came back to England, where I decided to attend a church service, So in the month of November, 1928 I attended m first Christian service in a church. When the people came out after the service, I began to look at them but I could not find any joy in their faces. I said surely these people had come for a funeral. I could not understand why they were looking so serious. I felt that there was something wrong, because my conception was that those who know Christ must be very happy. From that time I stopped going to church on Sundays but used to go on weekdays when the church was empty. In the city of London there are grand old churches where I spent hours sitting on empty benches, and I felt great peace there.
One year passed by, but I never told my Christian experience to anyone nor did I have the courage to do so, but the desire I had for smoking and drinking was all gone. Nobody told me to give this up, but I was so happy that I did not have the need for stimulants.
In 1929 I came back to Canada. I had to go there to finish my Agricultural Engineering course. I had to spend some time in the factories where they manufactured the agricultural implements, and had to go to the farms, where these implements were being used.
In the month of December I came to the city of Winnipeg. On the 14th of December, 1929, I said to a friend of mine, "Could you lend me a Bible?" He looked very much surprised and said, "You, a Hindu and an Indian, want to read the Bible? I have heard that Hindus do not like the Bible." I said, "You are right. These very hands have torn up a Bible. These very lips have blasphemed against Christ. But for the last eighteen months I have a great love for the Lord Jesus. I love His very Name, which sounds so sweet to me. But I do not know yet anything about His life and teaching." My friend put his hand into his pocket and gave me his pocket New Testament. From that day till now his Testament has been with me. This was my first pocket Testament. I brought it to my room and began to read from the Gospel of St. Matthew. I kept on reading till three in the morning as I became engrossed in the Word of God. In the morning I found the whole ground covered with snow, and I remained all day in bed, just to read.
The second day I was just reading the Gospel of St. John, 3rd chapter, when I came to the 3rd verse. I stopped at the first part of the verse. The words, "Verily, verily, I say unto you" convicted me. Just as I read these words my heart began to beat faster. I felt someone was standing beside me and saying again and again, "Verily, Verily I say unto you." I used to say, "The Bible belongs to the West," but the voice said, "Verily, verily I say unto you". I have never felt so much ashamed as I felt then, because all the blasphemous words I had uttered against Christ came before me. All my sins of school and college days came before me. I learned for the first time that I was the greatest sinner, and I discovered that my heart was wicked and filthy. My petty jealousies against my friends, my enemies, my wickedness were all clear before me. My parents thought that I was a good boy, my friends regarded me as a good friend, and the world considered me a decent member of society, but only I knew my real state. Tears were rolling down my cheeks and I was saying, "Oh! Lord, forgive me. Truly I am a great sinner." For a time I felt that there was no hope for me, a great sinner. As I was crying again the Voice said, "This is my body broken for you; this is my blood shed for the remission of your sins." So I knew that the blood of Jesus only could wash away my sins. I did not know how, but knew that the blood of Jesus only could save me. I could not explain the fact, but joy and peace came to my soul; I had the assurance that all my sins were washed away; I knew that the Lord Jesus was reigning in my heart. I just kept on praising Him.
After two days the same friend came to me and said, "It is Christmas time, and it is our custom to give our friends some presents." I said, "Please do not give me any presents," because I did not have any money to return him a present. But he insisted and so I said, "Alright, if you want to give me a present, give me a Bible as I have only a New Testament with me." He took me to the bazaar and said to me, "Make your own choice." He gave me the Bible which I have with me, the book that I love most and which is so dear to me. So I went to my room and started with the book of Genesis. I was so engrossed in it that I used to spend sometimes fourteen hours at a stretch, reading it. On the 22nd of February, 1930, I finished the whole Book. In the meantime I had also studied the New Testament several times. Then I started reading the Bible a second and third time. I gave up reading magazines, newspapers and novels. I had accepted the Bible as the Word of God from the first verse of Genesis to the last verse of Revelation, and no doubt has ever entered into my mind regarding any verse.
Formerly I used to wonder why some Christians had joy and some had not. But later I found out that those who entertained doubts about the Bible did not have real joy. Before I could not understand the evils I had been noticing around me, but the Bible solved all my difficulties. For two years I kept on reading the Bible. During my second reading, I came to the verse in Heb. 13:8: "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever." I had been suffering from nasal catarrh for many years. I had consulted the best English doctors, but they had done me no good. My eyesight too had become very weak. So I prayed, "Wilt thou heal my nose and give me eyesight?" In the morning when I woke up, I found to my great joy I was healed. That revealed to me that my Lord Jesus Christ was the same yesterday, today and forever. From that time, I have had the privilege of praying for the healing of many and the Lord has wonderfully answered my prayers.
On the 4th of February, 1932, I was baptized in Vancouver, Canada, and after baptism I was going on from place to place giving my testimony. During the first week of April, 1932, I was invited to give a talk about India. After the meeting was over they kept on asking questions, "What do you think of the missionary work in India?" I began to criticize it very harshly. As I came home and knelt down to pray, I found I could not pray and the Voice said to me, "Who are you to interfere in my work? You want others to be sacrificing but yourself lead a life of comfort." These words pierced my heart like a sword. They were true. I had so many plans to come back as an Engineer. I had said that I would give all my money for the Lord's work. But He said, "I do not want your money; I want you." That morning I knelt down and asked His forgiveness and said, "Oh! Lord, wilt thou accept me? I am prepared to go anywhere, whether to India, China or Africa. I am going to give up everything for thee, friends, relations, belongings." The Lord said, "You will have to live on faith. You must not ask anyone for any thing, not even your friends or relations. You must not ask for even a cup of coffee; you are not to make any plans." I said, "Lord, on the one hand you want me to give up all my claims on my property and home, and on the other hand you want me to live simply by faith. Who is going to provide for my needs?" The Lord said, "that is not your business." Although, six years have passed, I can testify to His glory that I have never asked any man for anything, not even my best friends. But the Lord is richly supplying all my needs. For one year I remained in America as a preacher, because I had given up all my plans to become an Engineer.
On the 19th of October, 1932, 1 wrote to my father about my conversion. On the 15th of November I prayed that the Lord might send someone to my father to explain the letter, which I had written to him about my conversion, as it was a long letter and I had given references from Genesis to Revelation. On the same day my father went to see an American missionary in my hometown. On the 21st of November, 1932 when he got my letter, he went to see the same missionary with whom he had become acquainted and said to him, "I have this letter containing many references from the Bible. Can you explain them?" The missionary gave him a Bible in Urdu and explained to him how to look up references. After looking up all the references, he was convinced that my conversion was according to real conviction. So he wrote to me saying that he had no objection and that he was pleased to know that I was happy in my faith.
On the 6th of April, 1933, I arrived in Bombay after seven years of absence. My father and mother came to meet me. When I came down from the ship the first thing my father said to me was, "Only your mother and I know about your conversion. Will you please keep it a secret and call yourself Sikh for the sake of the family honour? You can read the Bible and go to church but do not tell any one that you are a Christian." I said, "Can I live without breathing? When Christ is my life how can I live without Him?" I told him that I had given my whole life to Christ." He asked me, "Are you going to become a missionary? Are you going to be a padre?" I said, " No." He replied, "if you are no good to us why don't you be of some good to yourself. If you become a padre or a missionary some body will at least respect you. When you are going from place to place, who will listen to you and how will you support yourself?" I explained that God had called me for this work, but he could not understand. He said, " If you cannot keep the matter secret you cannot come home." So my father and mother left me in Bombay, and I began to do some Christian work there. After two or three weeks I got a letter from my sister. She wrote to me, "I have heard that you have come back. Will you come and see me?" She did not know that I had become a Christian. She thought I was merely trying for a job in Bombay, so I went to Karachi to see her. When my sister saw me preaching in the bazaar and going to church, she wrote to my father saying, "Things are dangerous. Come soon."
My father came to Karachi immediately. The same evening there was a family gathering—my sister, brother-in-law, my brothers, and my father. My sister became very angry and began to abuse me. She said to me, "You have left a high and noble religion and have become an outcaste." I said, "I am worse than and outcaste, because you cannot see the state of my heart. The Lord Jesus has told me that I am the greatest sinner. When I said that my sister became very angry and started to say some words against Christ. My father asked for my Urdu Bible and I gave it to him. He began to read from the New Testament certain passages. "We sent for you to reprimand him, but you are preaching for Christ," said my sister. My father replied, "You have no right to say anything against the Lord Jesus, because you do not know anything about Him. You can say what you want against your brother but do not say anything against Christ." They were all taken by surprise and the meeting came to a close.
The next day my father attended a church service. After the service we were walking in the street when I met a Sikh whom I had the privilege of bringing to Christ. He told his experience to my father. My father said to him that when he had left me in Bombay he became unhappy and so went to see sadhus and sanyases and asked them how to get peace. But all of them said that it was a difficult thing to achieve. So one Sunday my father happened to pass by a Church in Lahore. The service was about to commence, and so he got in without any particular intention and occupied a back seat. Just as the service began he saw a great light. As he saw the bright light shining he cried, "Oh Lord, Thou art my Saviour too." Then a Great peace came to his soul.
Before leaving Karachi, my father said to me, "You can come home when ever you want." So I went home. All my friends, relatives came to see me, and from morning till night they continued to reprove. Every man and woman had something to say. However I kept quiet. Afterwards my father said to me, "Why don't you give your testimony in the Church?" But the Indian padre in the local Church would not agree, He said, "You have so many relations and friends in this town it would be dangerous, as they are bound to create trouble." I said, "I am prepared for everything." So in the newly built church, meetings were held and people of all classes came. There was hardly any room left either outside or inside. There I gave my testimony. After the meeting was over, many people gathered around me and said, "We want to ask you some questions." I said, "Yes, you are quite welcome." The first question was "Does your religion allow you to disobey your parents? Does your love permit you to disappoint your parents? When your father had spent Rs. 25,000 on your education, surely it was your duty to ask his consent before you became a Christian. Look at your father; he is broken-hearted. Do you call this love?" I was about to answer when my father spoke out. My father has a loud voice, as I have. So he said as loudly as he could, "I am not at all broken-hearted. Why do you drag my name into it? I am convinced that my son has real peace. Before you ask any more questions, I want to know whether there is anyone standing here who can say that he has eternal peace in him. I know that my son has real peace. Please come forward if you have. I will not allow anyone to ask these questions unless he has real Peace." When the people heard this they looked at me and my father and dispersed one by one.
Since then I have had the privilege to go to my hometown many times, and have conducted several meetings in the local church. Now the first hatred they had against me is gone. My father is definitely born again and is testifying. He is very faithful, but he is not baptized yet. He says that he is waiting for my mother. My mother is very religious. She says that she has given her son to the Lord Jesus Christ and she has faith in Him. Once my mother had an attack of typhoid fever, my brother brought an English doctor to treat her. When he left, my mother said, "I do not want any medicine. You pray and I shall be healed." That, very night the Lord healed her. My father reads to her from the Bible ever day, and she listens attentively. My father is born again, and one of my younger brothers is baptized.
"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail and the field shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herb in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation." (Hab. 3: 17-18)
We often wonder how we can realize the constant presence of God, how we can find out the perfect will of God and how we can become a means of the salvation of loved ones, friends, neighbours and enemies. "All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out." (John 6:37). The Lord Jesus Christ is assuring us in those words that He will welcome anyone who wants to know Him and have Him and to be possessed by Him. So those of you who are heavy laden with sin and worldly care, are being invited at this time to come unto Him without wavering. May I tell you that from the very minute you make an effort to come to the Lord Jesus Christ all the powers of darkness will begin to work in your heart and create doubts, fears and misgivings. But we get assurance from the same Lord who say, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth" (Matt, 28:18). We also read in Jeremiah 29:13, "And ye shall seek Me and find Me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Then the Lord says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth, on me hath everlasting life" (John 6:47). Your part is to kneel and believe on Him, and His part is to give you the gift of eternal life, which is being offered to us freely. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8). So, my reader friend, if you are being convicted by the Holy Spirit of your sins and sinful nature, do not be afraid of all the doubts and fears which are being put into your mind by the Enemy. Accept the Lord Jesus in your heart and He will come into you, the hope of glory. "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). The coming in and the living of the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts is called the experience of the New Birth. It is a simple experience of accepting the living Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts, as the Lord Jesus says, "Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come into him and will sup with him and he with Me" (Rev. 3:20). The Lord Jesus will never force His way into our hearts. If you hear His voice please harden not your heart. The very minute you read this book is the time of your salvation. "For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee behold now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2). If you do not obey His voice now your heart will become harder and harder and the light rejected will become darkness. The Spirit of God will not always strive with man. "And the Lord said My spirit shall not always strive with man" (Gen. 6:3). The spirit of God has been striving with you, bringing before you all your sins and the stink of your sinful nature. Remember one day your very bones will being to rot with the stink of sin, and the sin which you are covering by garbs of culture, civilization, manners, customs, smiles, and smooth words will be uncovered one day. "For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid that shall not be made known" (Luke 12:2).
People throughout the world and throughout the ages have been trying to cover sin. The leper may succeed in covering his spot of leprosy in its initial stage, but one day the leprosy will appear upon the fingers and toes and other parts of the body. In the same manner, our sins are brought to light by the searching eyes of God. May I beg you to kneel down and say these words before the Lord, "Search me, oh God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24).
As soon as you kneel down and begin to say these words be prepared to have your pride broken and the root of your sin burnt out by His precious blood: the Holy spirit will bring before you the sins committed from your childhood days and you must acknowledge them with these words, "I acknowledge my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid, I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; And Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin" (Ps.32:5). Confession means humility: God cannot make exceptions. Unless we confess our sins upon our knees and confess all of them, some kind of pride will remain in our hearts, and God cannot come into a proud heart. "For thus saith the high and the lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose Name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite one" (Isaiah 57: 15).
The nearer we draw unto the Lord, the more we realize the corruption of our corrupt nature. Job, when he saw God, said these words: "I have heard of thee by the hearing of my ear; but now mine eyes see thee. Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and in ashes" (Job 42: 5-6). After confession we are ready to receive the Prince of Peace into our hearts, and the very minute we accept Him as our Lord we become His children. "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name" (John 1:12). So to believe in His Name means to receive Him as the living Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts after our sins are washed away by His blood. We are also drawn near to Him by His blood. "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometime were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:13). And the same Blood of Christ purges our conscience from all dead works. "How much more shall the Blood of Christ who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb. 9:14). As long as our conscience is not purged we are unable to conquer sin. So my friend, as soon as you accept by faith the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ for purging of sins, you are free from the bondage of sin and the bondage of corruption, and then you will be granted liberty from every kind of fear.
There are three things which are offered to us as free gifts, on account of our accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour. Firstly, victory over the world. "For whatsoever is born of God overcome the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith" (1 John 5:4). Secondly, victory over sin. "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that wicked one touch him not" (1 John 5:18). Thirdly, we are given victory over death. "The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is law. But thanks be to God which giveth to us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1Cor. 15:56-57).
Having received these three gifts we become co-labourers with the Lord Jesus Christ. "For we are labourers together with God. We are God's husbandry, we are God's building" (1 Cor 3:9). Having become co-labourers we are made to sit together with Him. "And hath raised us up together, and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6). Those who become the co-labourers of the Lord Jesus Christ become also partakers of His heavenly kingdom and all things that belong to Him. "Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present or things to come; all are yours; And we are Christ's and Christ is God's" (1Cor. 3:21-23). And having the assurance of possessing all these things we have perfect peace in our hearts. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14: 27).
My dear reader friend, I invite you to accept on this occasion these words in the Name of the Christ. As you read these words, fall upon your knees acknowledging Him as the Lord of lords, the Prince of peace, the King of kings, and as your own personal Friend. I can say from my experience that there is no joy in the world to be compared to the joy of having Lord Jesus Christ living in us. He is solving my problems; answering my questions, bearing my burdens, giving strength to overcome temptations, and enabling me to share my joy with others, and at the same time He has given me the honour of walking and talking with Him every step of my life's journey. Will you accept Him as your Lord and Saviour this very day? May the Lord Jesus bless you. My prayer is that the Lord may grant you an understanding of his hidden mysteries, and by simple faith that you may claim great things from the great God.