In His Time.......... with P.Ramachandran

Another exciting news from the mission field. 2 new churches were dedicated yesterday. One in Kurnool, AP and the other in Bhoothpur, TS. Both in India.  This bring the total number of church buildings we have built to 145, motivated by the HLE vision.  We thank God for Bishop Nehemiah, an HI alumni, and for the church planters under his charge for reaching the unreached.  We thank God for the sponsors who have given sacrificially to the house of the gospel. To God be the glory.

I t was a wonderful opportunity for me to speak to some alumni from past Haggai sessions. Rev Daniel Yaw, who has been RC for these sessions organised this gathering. About 30 of them from different cohorts came to gather for a time of fellowship and to listen to the Word. I spoke on 2 King 5,  focussing  on the theme, "Evangelism in a this as this". I shared how the little girl was in a  similar   pandemic  situation and yet was willing to share the  good news of a "God who heals". The feedback was good. To God be the glory.

Another praise report from the field. "This happened on 9th Feb in a remote village in Odisha, India , This brother (in light blue T-Shirt) from a hindu family was sick for 6 months. He was under some kind of demonic oppression and witchcraft. He had been to many witch doctors and spent lots of money but couldn't get any help . Finally one of our church planters met him and suggested that we call some men of God and fast for few days. We fasted and prayed for 3 days at their residence. Now that brother is completely delivered and well . The whole family accepted Christ. This Sunday we prayed in their house. Now a new church is staring in this village that has no christians". - Bishop Anjan Kumar, Odisha God is at work. The ends of the world need to hear the gospel. Let's do it. To God be the glory.

2 Kings 5 has been titled "Naaman healed of leprosy". But as I was studing this chapter I was mesmerized by the literary brilliance the Holy Spirit has inspired the authorship. Every verse seems to poetically showcase a dramatic contrast that has often eluded a cursory reader. Look at the contrast: Verse 1: Incomparable Might of the Commander v Incurable Plight of the Commander Verse 2: An offensive Commander v An obedient Captive Verse 3 : A man with Sickness v A girl with the Solution Verse 4: Slave speaks v Sovereign listen Verses 5-7: Helpless King of Aram v Unhelpful King of Israel Verse 8: Hopelessness of the king v Hopefulness of the prophet V Verses11-12: Pride v Humility Verse 13: Arrogant Master v Humble Servant Verse15: Sinner v Saint Verse 23: Deceiver v the Deceived Verse26: Servant of God v Servant of man Verse 27 - You can cheat man but not God Simply exquisite

The New Covenant does not do away with the need for obedience to God's laws. In fact it reinforces it. No exemptions granted. Anyone who dilutes, minimises, or does not even speak about this truth is not preaching the full gospel. Matthew 5:17 -“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. T he New Covenant  does not do away with the need for obedience to God. In fact, it supplies the strength to live that way. We need to be very careful about some soothing teachings today that does not speak about obedience. God understands, He forgives. All that is true. The “overwhelming desire for the remission of that sin” is all too often left out in the liberal church.     Listen : If the message does not call you to obedience to God, something is wrong. It misses the fundamental relationship a person is supposed to have with God. John 14:24  -  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and ...

Praise God for another blessing. We have raised sufficient funds for a church building for this congregation in Assam, India, planted by one of our church planters. Bishop Samuel Sharma (green shawl) is a Haggai alumni and he oversees the outreach work in NE India, Bhutan and Nepal. The Haggai training has motivated us to train more than 300 church planters in the Himalayas Region region alone. To the glory of God more than 250 churches/house groups have been planted in the difficult terrains of the Himalayas mountains. Let all Haggai alumni go all out to end gospel poverty in their region. More workers needed.  To God be the glory.

This morning I addressed this important question about knowing God's will for the future. Deut 28:6:  Y ou will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. It means: In all your business and employments of life whether within doors or without; in the administration of every office, whether more public or private; and in all their journeys going out and coming home; and particularly when they went out to war, and returned, all should be attended with success. In fact a similar verse is also recorded in  Psalms 121:8: the Lord will watch over your coming and going both  now and forevermore This is an extension of the blessing: Now and forever  – Even your future is going to be a blessing. Rev Tissa, Weerasingha  from Sri Lanka, said this, " The guarantee to knowing the unrevealed will of God is to obey the revealed will of God." I dealt with three of the revealed will of God this morning. A life for the Salvation of people (fulfilling t...