April (part 1 of 2)
APRIL 1
"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord" (2 Cor. 6:17).
In Joshua's day God's people failed to drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem. When the Lord gave His people the whole land of Canaan to possess, He commanded them to drive out the seven nations because of their abominable heathen practices. But the Israelites allowed the Jebusites to remain in the strongest position of the city. Years later when David became king in Jerusalem, they began to mock him, and were very self confident. When King David and his men went out against them they said, "Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither," thinking they could not be overcome.
But God's purpose was to have the Jebusites driven out, so He gave David and his men victory (see 2 Sam. 5:1-10). It was only when he became the true king of Zion over all the tribes of Israel, that God showed him that the Jebusites must not remain. If you want to have a share in building the House of the Lord, then you must yield completely to Jesus Christ as the heavenly King. As we enthrone the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts, our family and our Church, we will begin to see something of God's plan for His Church.
Now the Jebusites had no part whatsoever in God's House, as in these days persons not born again have no place or share in the House of God. Many are found like Jebusites in the work of God today. Though they are not born again they have been elected to hold offices and to be members of committees because of their influence through their money, positions or other worldly qualifications. Others who are not born again hold positions as pastors and deacons. Such cannot truly have any part in the House of God or any share whatever in the work of the Lord. They cannot lead and take care of God's flock as true pastors and shepherds and like the Jebusites, must be kept outside. The presence of even a few Jebusites hinders God's work. Even though David, when he came to Jerusalem had driven out many, he left some there, perhaps thinking not to trouble them because they did good and were nice people. But God had to punish David till he drove them all out.
APRIL 2
"They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion" (Psalm 125:1).
The children of Israel on their way to Jerusalem to observe the feasts of Jehovah, had to climb the mountains which surrounded Jerusalem. At that time they remembered all the promises which God made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their forefathers. These promises reminded them of the Lord's help from time to time to deliver them from their troubles. In spite of all their failures, disobedience and rebellion, the God of grace and mercy heard their prayers, and delivered them. When they saw the mountains of Jerusalem which did not change, they were reminded of God's promise in Malachi 3:6 that He was an unchanging God. When we humble ourselves and confess our sins before Him, He is ready to forgive us. As the people were journeying to Jerusalem they were conscious of their defeat, disobedience and rebellion. But when they saw the mountains of Jerusalem they had hopes, that if they reminded God of His covenant and promises He would forgive them (2 Chro. 7:14-15). In this way they remembered many promises of God. At the sight of the mountains around Jerusalem they received new faith and hope. They knew that due to their sins and disobedience they had lost their power and faith. But they were reminded that He is a loving and merciful God; if they trusted Him, He would turn again to them. They had to come back to Him with all their heart, and with simple faith and belief that whatever God promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and to their forefathers would surely come to pass. That is why again and again when they turned to God as a nation they were abundantly blessed. They were scattered, persecuted and punished because of their sin and disobedience, but when they humbled themselves God came in, helped them and blessed them.
Thus you find if you call upon God with real faith, He Who is the God of mercy and love will not turn you away empty. In 1 John 1:9 we read, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." You might have grieved Him much but if you come back with real repentance, confess your sins and believe from your heart that the Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself your punishment and condemnation for all your sins, even for your thoughts, and shed His precious blood to cleanse you and keep you thoroughly clean from every defilement, then the very second you believe you will be forgiven.
APRIL 3
"I Exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions... be made for all men" (1 Timothy 2:1).
We who are believers have become co-intercessors with the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is our great heavenly High Priest. Often we do not realize what a great privilege it is to be co-intercessors with Lord Jesus Christ to intercede for God's servants and His people. We also do not realize how much others depend upon our intercession.
There is going to be a time of much suffering, persecution and difficulties for all the believers. Some believers are tempted even now to call themselves Harijan Christians to get admission into colleges, secure jobs or scholarships. They are ashamed to confess the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some people are ashamed to carry the Bible or pray in public.
By our intercession such people can be delivered. Those who are overcomers have the privilege of interceding for people who are in such danger. If we fail God by not interceding as we should, God can rise another testimony, but we will suffer with other people. In this respect, now we have a tremendous responsibility for all those who are facing great persecution. Our intercession is so very necessary for God's servants, fellow-believers and all God's people in the whole world. Paul the apostle went on requesting believers in different assemblies to intercede for him. "Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me" (Rom. 15:30). "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds; that therein
I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak" (Eph. 6:18-20). We have to intercede individually, as a family, and as a church. By our intercession God can deliver many people and prepare them for the coming persecution. At the same time we also can be strengthened. May the Lord grant us a travailing and agonizing burden of prayer for God's servants, fellow-believers and for those whom we meet here and there.
APRIL 4
"... the LORD reigneth: ...he shall judge the people righteously" (Psalm 96:10)
Even though men may rise against us we do not turn away from the path of righteousness or from the ministry of preaching the Gospel, because our faith is in God, and we know He reigneth. We have a living God and we know He will judge the people righteously, and therefore no man can harm us. God will judge the world with righteousness and the people with His truth. We have this hope: The Lord will come and judge the earth. We need not take revenge upon those who do injustice to us. The Lord is righteous. He may judge now itself. Otherwise He will do it on the Day of Judgment. Let us therefore be faithful in our duties and refuse to take revenge upon anyone.
Through you and me heaven can rejoice if we bring souls to the Lord. The Lord Jesus said, "...there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth" (Luke 15:10). The farmer may not be joyful when he sows the seed, but by faith he goes on sowing expecting that one day he will reap the harvest. Those who labour in the field sowing the seed of God's Word should rejoice by faithfully believing that their labour will not be in vain and one day they will surely reap an abundant harvest.
Many years ago we went to Guntur for open-air preaching. Suddenly it began to rain. After preaching in one street we wanted to pray before proceeding to another. I hesitated to kneel down as the ground was muddy. I wanted to stand and pray. But then I thought if the clothes get soiled they can be cleaned in the laundry, why should I be ashamed to kneel? So we knelt and prayed. After many years I received a letter. The writer said that God had spoken to him on that day, not by our preaching, but by our kneeling upon the muddy ground in prayer. By faith we must see today what the harvest will be after a long time.
APRIL 5
"But now is Christ risen from the dead" (1 Cor. 15:20).
We have seven great proofs of the resurrection of our living Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
(1) The prophecies made in the Old Testament by the prophets. (Isa. 25:8; Hosea 13:14; Psa. 16:10). Nobody ever dreamed of conquering death. There has been only one case in the whole world's history. "He will swallow up death in victory."
(2) The prophecies made by the Lord Himself to His disciples before He was crucified. "The Son of man must be killed and rise again." (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; John 10:18).
(3) The testimony borne by the angels on the early Easter morning: "He is not here, He is risen" (Luke 24:5,6).
(4) The empty sepulchre. "They entered in and found not the body of the Lord Jesus." The empty sepulchre can be seen to day in Jerusalem. Every day people come from many parts of the world to see it. Other sepulchres are full of dead men's bones but this an empty sepulchre.
(5) Our Lord's appearances on ten different occasions on different days to the disciples during 40 days after He rose again; five times on the first day: again, five times from the second day to His ascension. He first appeared to Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre then to other women who were returning from the sepulchre. Then He appeared to Simon Peter. Then to two disciples going to Emmaus. And that same evening to the disciples as they were gathered in the room, the door being shut. He appeared to the 500 disciples in Jerusalem as we see in 1 Cor. 15:6. Then He appeared to James. For Thomas' sake, He appeared the eighth time on the eighth day. At the lake of Tiberias, He appeared for the night time (John 21). Then He appeared in Bethany before He ascended into heaven. Like that He appeared ten times within 40 days to show us that He may come into us by the power of resurrection, to make the worst sinner a child of God.
(6) His appearances after He went to heaven. He appeared to Stephen (Acts 7:54,55). He appeared to Saul, afterwards called Paul (Acts 9:3-5). He appeared to John in the isle of Patmos (Rev. 1).
(7) There is one more proof, which is much more important than the six other proofs, and it can be much convincing to those you speak to. He lives in every believer. Those who believe in Him in any part of the world, He comes to live in them. We can all say the same thing, 'He lives in me, He lives in me'. That's why we now put the same question to you. Does the living Lord live in you?
APRIL 6
"Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19).
The Lord has many spiritual lessons to teach us through the trials which He allows to come upon us.
1. When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, He becomes our righteousness. To all appearances, Job was a perfect and upright man, one who feared God and eshewed evil (Job 1:1). Yet, after he had gone through the mill of affliction we hear the same Job say in Job 42:5,6. "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes". It was after Job had gone through painful afflictions that he began to see that his true nature was sinful and corrupt, and realized that he can become righteous only by a personal experience with the holy, living and just God.
2. Through afflictions we can develop a strong active faith (1 Pet. 1:7). It has to go through many refining fires to become really pure and bright.
3. These trials help to keep us on the right path. "Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word" (Psalm 119:67).
4. God allows afflictions to come upon us so that we may learn God's statutes and precepts. We can never hope to understand God's statutes through any book of human origin. "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes" (Psalm 119:71).
5. These hardships finally lead us to a spiritually wealthy place, enlarge our vision and give us a large heart. In Psalm 66:12, we read: "we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place".
6. By these testings, we are being prepared for our heavenly inheritance with the saints in light. "...if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together" (Rom. 8:17).
7. When we have passed through sorrows and trials, we are better equipped to comfort those who are passing through similar sorrows and trials (2 Cor. 1:4).
8. When we have passed through mocking and revilings for the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are able to appreciate better our oneness with Him. We see in Matt. 10:24,25. "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master".
9. Sufferings help to keep us humble. The thorn in the flesh must have been very painful to Paul but the Lord allowed it in his life to keep him humble (2 Cor. 12:7-9).
10. Through hardships we are conditioned to enjoy God's power in fullness. See 2 Cor. 12:9 "...he (the Lord) said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me".
APRIL 7
"For the law of Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2).
The Seventh Day Adventists draw our attention to Exodus 20:10 "But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor they maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates". They say, "What about this commandment? Do you observe the Ten Commandments and keep the sabbath? You ought to observe Saturday as the sabbath for your salvation. If not you are breaking God's commandments and are coming under God's judgment". They say that our Lord Jesus Christ observed the sabbath and did not change it. They are such cultured liars; they mislead and misguide people and bring them into bondage by their deceptive and evil teaching.
In the early days of the Christian era, people in Galatia were taught that unless they were circumcised or observed special days, they were not saved. That is why the apostle Paul wrote this epistle in such strong language and said that when they did so, they were going back into their old ways. He was afraid that his teaching might go in vain and they might lose everything. That is the devil's old trick, not a new one. If you are getting any papers of prophecy from Pune or any papers edited by Seventh Day Adventists, burn them, because they are defiled and are being used by the devil to ruin many homes. When God has forgiven your sins already and you have become just before God through your faith, these Seventh Day Adventists say that by observing the sabbath and keeping sabbath you can be fully saved. Mark all the references carefully.
Now see for what purpose God gave the sabbath and why we are now free from it. "But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shall not do any work, ...that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God command thee to keep the sabbath day" (Deut. 5:14,15).
God told the Isrelites that because they had been bond slaves in Egypt under the Egyptians and had served false gods; to remind them of that, He commanded them to keep the sabbath. Every sabbath they remembered their slavery due to disobedience, and the chains of sin that bound their hands, feet, tongues, ears, eyes and bodies. The Law was weak and nobody became righteous through it. That is why the Lord Jesus Christ became man and fulfilled the righteousness which God demanded through the Law. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh" (Rom. 8:2,3). What man could not do, the Lord Jesus Christ did and set us free from every bondage. He bore our burden, punishment and condemnation and became a curse for us. That is why we are completely free and come under a new Law-the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, while those who come under the former old Law come under the law of sin and death.
Thus in observing the sabbath, the Israelites remembered their slavery under their hard task-masters, but now, the Lord Jesus Christ has broken all chains of bondage and has given us His own true rest.
APRIL 8
"Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, ...concerning the work of my hands command ye me" (Isaiah 45:11).
Abraham was prepared to do as God told him (Gen. 22). God said, "Take your son"! and he took him. He took wood also. Then God told him to build an altar, and he built it, without any question or doubt in his mind. That is real friendship with the mighty God. When God says, "Yes", I say, "Yes" and when God says, "No" I say "No", and when God says, "Go", I go, and when He says, "Stay", I stay, and when He says, "Speak", I speak. You find that such friendship will carry you up every mountain. Your sufferings are sufferings of trial, and trials and sufferings are all preparation.
In the first instance God told Abraham how He was going to judge Sodom and Gomorrah. But now God wanted to tell him what was going to happen through his seed, in blessing to all nations of the earth, Verse 17. That seed is the Lord Jesus Christ and Abraham would thus be also a partaker of all the blessing which were to come through that seed. He would enjoy the fruits of the victory of that seed over all the enemies of God, and over all the powers of darkness. We too have the right in Him to enjoy the fruits of His victory, which will ensure not only a happy life upon the earth, but a share of His victory over all the powers of darkness in heavenly places. That is what it means to be a friend of God.
Verse 13 reveals something further of what the friendship of God has for Abraham. The ram was caught in the thicket, not because it would run away somewhere. God could have made that very same ram to appear right before Abraham without being bound in a thicket. But God was teaching Abraham some important lessons. After he had passed the final test, he saw the ram caught in the bush. This ram is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. God was saying to Abraham, "You have obeyed my voice, Now I am bound for blessing to you and your seed. Now command Me, Continue to command Me. "...concerning the work of my hands, command ye me" (Isa. 45:11). God is willing to bless us if we obey Him. Most of us want God to listen to us and work for us. But we won't obey Him. The Lord Jesus has been bound for blessing us that we may be able to command Him in the days to come; that we may command the blessing of God for all nations, and also victory over all enemies. God took Abraham on the mountain top; that Abraham might learn how to command the best things from God for all the generations to come. Do you have a desire to climb that mountain of God's friendship? Do you want to be a friend of God? If you want to be a friend of God, you will find the whole secret revealed in the life of Abraham and especially in Genesis chapter 22.
APRIL 9
"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).
As our everlasting, heavenly High Priest, the Lord Jesus is constantly interceding and pleading that we may be forgiven and restored. He is able to save us to the uttermost. The apostle John was wondering about those who had gone astray, and those who had lost their lives for the sake of the Gospel, and the Lord gave the answer: it is not merely by rebuking and teaching them that they will be restored, but by the constant intercessory prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those who are truly born again, even though they may fall into some horrible sin, and remain in sin for some time, will find the Holy Spirit striving with them constantly in their hearts. The Lord will not leave them till they come back to Him. He will pull them by His prayer. Believers may forsake other believers, but our Lord Jesus Christ will never forsake them.
In a sanatorium, there was a patient whose heart was very hardened, and who would never listen when anyone spoke about God. One old lady used to go the sanatorium for Gospel work once a month, but that man would never listen to what she said. Even though she gave him many things, he paid no attention. The lady had a small girl of about ten years of age. One night in the family prayer, the lady did not mention the name of that man. The small girl said, "Mother, you have forgotten to pray for that man in the sanatorium." She said, "There is no hope for him, so there is no need to pray for him. I gave him up." And the little girl said, "Has the Lord Jesus Christ also given him up?" The mother could not answer that question. The small girl went to sleep, but the mother could not sleep. She began to pray, "Lord, forgive me, forgive me", and soon she had a new burden of prayer for that man. The next day she went back to the same sanatorium to see him. A neighbouring woman said, "I will also come with you", and took her small daughter with her. The little girl saw some flowers on the way, and plucked them. When they came into the sanatorium, the small girl went forward and offered the flowers to the sick man. The man began to weep. "Why are you weeping?" they asked him. He said, "Some years ago, I also had a small girl like this. I was very fond of her. At that time, I used to love God, and honour God. Suddenly that small girl died. I could not understand why the God of love should take away my child like this. From that day onwards, I lost all interest in things of God and the Bible. That is why I did not like to hear from your lips about God, and that He is the God of love. Why did he take away my child?" The lady said to him, "I remember some time ago you told me that your wife was not a very good woman. You told me that she was living a sinful life." "Yes, I did," he said. "Then," she said, "suppose your daughter was alive, she would also have been ruined by your wife. To save her from the horrible life, the Lord took her away." He said, "I never thought of that!" From that day he repented and turned back to God. Unknown to him, the Lord had been striving in intercession on his behalf. Many believers backslide in the same way. They doubt God and His grace, but the Lord Jesus Christ will not leave them. He is constantly interceding on their behalf.
APRIL 10
"And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties" (Mark 6:40).
In Matthew 14:19 there is a divine order. "And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass." It is not a simple job to serve food to a multitude. They all flock to one person, and say: "Give me first". It was not an easy thing to control such a great and hungry multitude. So the Lord commanded that they had to sit down in order. We cannot do the work of God without order. People do not like divine order. They rebel against God's Word, but the servants of God have got to see that divine order is maintained wherever they seek to serve God. We have to follow divine order, if we want hungry people to be fed, and to be satisfied through our labour. Let us not rebel against divine order. God is the God of order, and we must learn to work in divine order and see that divine order is maintained. We must learn this simple secret of maintaining order in the House of God. We should show reverence and respect for the House of God. If we have learned how to come into the House of God, how to kneel and show reverence, then we can learn divine order. Often the leaders find it difficult to control the young people even in an ordinary Sunday gathering. Those who do not follow divine order, seek to bring in man's order everywhere. But God's people must not rebel against divine order in the House of God. God's servants must learn how to bring in God's order and when divine order is maintained, those who love God will not rebel against it. It is only when the Lord's order is maintained that the Lord blesses the ministry.
From Matt. 14:21 it appears that men sat on one side and women and children on the other, because it is said that the men were about 5000. God has an order for family life, for church life and for weekly and Sunday gatherings. When divine order is maintained there is opportunity for God to bless. Our Lord looked up to heaven and blessed the bread and brake it. Unless things are blessed by God, they cannot satisfy. God blesses whenever you claim that blessing. Almost all Christians have the habit of saying grace before they have food, but though they claim God's blessings, they often do not believe God has blessed the food, because they seem to get much more joy in mutton than in dhal. If you believe the Lord has blessed your food you will get equal joy in any kind of food. Instead, how often you scold your wife if there is no mutton or fish or anything else according to your taste. People pray solemnly, "God bless the food", but have no faith that God will do so. I believe from experience, from the time the Lord saved me, that I no longer worry about my food. I do not care what kind of food is given to me I will never murmur or grumble. I believe from my heart the Lord blesses the food for me and it becomes good for me, and I can enjoy the food whatever it may be; and it is quite true that the Lord does bless the food when you ask Him.
APRIL 11
"I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me" (Psa. 119:75).
The experience of being in the fish's belly brought about true repentance in the heart of Jonah (ch.2). Jonah did not hide his sin from the people in the ship, then how could he hide it from God? When the work of repentance in Jonah was deep and complete, God commanded the whale to throw him right on the spot where He wanted Jonah to be. In the same way God allows the storms in our lives to bring us to true repentance and real confession. Likewise He lovingly brings us to the place where He wants us to be, and where only He can use us.
We see an instance of God's provision for His servants in the way He commanded the fish to throw Jonah on dry land. When Jonah ran away he had to pay his fare (Jonah 1:3). But when he repented the whale took him to the shore free of charge! God became responsible for all his expenses. How many of God's servants weep and complain when they have no money! They do not realize that they are suffering because they have disobeyed God in some matter, and have need to repent. All our needs will be met by God when there is true repentance and whole-hearted obedience.
The God of love knew that Jonah needed better protection from the sun than what the booth provided him. In a matter of minutes, God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. Jonah did not thank the Lord for His loving and wonderful provision of the gourd nor did his anger against God abate in the least degree. Very patiently God took steps to bring Jonah to his senses. He prepared a worm and it smote the gourd so that it withered. When the sun arose God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, and he fainted. Jonah had not yet learnt the lesson provided by the gourd, and was still angry, implying that God was wrong and he himself was right. We see the marvellous patience of our loving God who tenderly rebuked him (4:10,11).
The Lord never makes a mistake. He uses many means, as He did with Jonah, to bring us back to Himself. When we run away from Him, He allows storms to overthrow us, but provides safety in "a whale". He shows marvellous lovingkindness to us even when we create our own problems, and "go on strike" against Him. He suddenly provides "a gourd to protect our head," and as suddenly removes it to show us our utter dependence upon Him. When we obey God, He supplies all our needs and meets all our expenses. But when we do not obey Him, He uses both simple as well as extraordinary means to bring us to our senses, so that we may learn to live in the presence of God and be His co-workers.
APRIL 12
"...who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD?" (1 Chron. 29:5).
In April 1932 I was in Vancouver, Canada. One day I went to youth meeting. One man asked me to tell about the Christian work in India. I did not know anything about it, but I only found fault with the missionaries. When I went home I could not pray. Then the voice of the Lord came to me saying, "Who are you to find fault with My servants? What have you done for Me?" I said, "Lord, I thought I am most unfit for Your service and that is why I have been offering You my money and You would not take it. The Lord said, "Even now I want you." I said, "Lord, if You want me, I have no choice or conditions; keep me anywhere or send me anywhere, I will go. I will not question You, I will not complain saying this is a cold lonely place, I will go." We have no right to lay any condition before God. God is sovereign and He has every right over us. To be God's true co-worker, be willing to go any where, go on obeying His voice without any question.
The Lord said, "I accept you for full-time service on three conditions. First of all, withdraw all your claims on your property in Punjab and do not tell about your needs to anyone, don't accept any salary from any one. Secondly, do not join any society but serve all as I send you. Lastly, do not make your own plans. Let me lead you step by step." I replied, "Lord, I agree." On the 4th of April, 1932, I accepted the Lord's call for full time service. I did not know where to go, what to do or how to speak one word, but the Lord knew what to do. If we want to become God's co-workers, we must obey Him implicitly, then He will show clearly what our work is. It took me five years to know clearly what my work was. In the beginning I only used to give out tracts. Then He went on leading me and guiding me and now I praise the Lord, I am His co-worker and partner. I thank Him for the honour given to me to be His witness, mouthpiece and servant. Later on, I had to go through all kinds of hardships and suffering. I thank God with all my heart for all the suffering I had to go through. In those days I had no house to live and never knew from where I would get my next meal. I used to walk many miles in God's service, but they were the most precious days.
All of you have a share in building God's House. Whosoever you may be, foolish or weak, deaf or dumb, if you are willing, the Lord can use you. But believe that He wants you to be His partner and He will pay you very highly. Sometimes people used to question me, "What is your salary? Who pays you?" My answer was, "Very high salary." Then they would say, "Is it Rs 500/- or Rs. 1,000/-?" I would say, "No, very high". Again they would ask, "Is it Rs 10,000/-?" Then I would say, "No, very high. God supplies all my need, and He pays me every day and gives me much more than I need." If the Lord is speaking to you about His service, obey Him, and do not harden your heart. Do not look at your foolishness and weakness. Offer yourself to Him, and pray like this, "Oh, Lord! I also want to be used by You. I too want heavenly blessings". When you believe that you are God's co-worker, He will show you what you should do. Many believers go to meetings, sing songs, sleep during the message and go away. That is all. They do not find out by prayer their share in God's work. Every believer has a part and share in building God's House under the Headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. By doing that part faithfully, we have the privilege of enjoying all those spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. But first of all, make sure that your sins are forgiven and that you have received the gift of eternal life. Only then, God can use you or else He will not touch your money or anything you give. That is why we say, "Please do not bring your offering if you are not born again".
APRIL 13
"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul" (1 Pet. 2:11).
God had told Jacob to go to Bethel but he delayed for a long time. Again the Lord spoke to Jacob and said "Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother" (Gen. 35:1). At last Jacob understood that the Lord really wanted him to go to Bethel. Then he looked at his family, and noticed that they were wearing strange garments. He realized that these worldly garments spoke of vanity and lustful desires.
Quite often children form sinful habits and fall into sinful friendships. In their young age they become slaves to worldly habits. If one has discernment one can easily find this from the garments they wear. Yet many parents are utterly blind and unable to see that their children are being steadily drawn in to the devil's net, and they coolly say, "Our children are so nice and so innocent".
Jacob commanded his household to put away the strange gods and the strange garments and strange jewels. Then he buried them all under an oak tree. Thus there was a spiritual awakening and revival in Jacob's family. After this Jacob and his people continued their journey, "and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them" (Gen. 35:5). What a change had taken place! Now all the people of the cities around about were afraid of Jacob. They whispered among themselves, "They are God's people!" Before this Jacob had been trembling and devising various schemes to appease his enemies. Now it was the other way around, and the people began to tremble at Jacob's approach, and the fear of God fell upon them.
After this revival in Jacob's family, God appeared to him again and blessed him (Gen. 35:10 to 12). Please obey God fully, and do not stop short of Bethel the House of God. Beware of all the subtle devices of the enemy to keep you away from the House of God. The Lord wants to keep us under the blessing and protection of the House of God and also help us to take our full share in building, the House of God which is His Church.
APRIL 14
"O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me..." (Psalm 43:3).
Behind the breastplate containing the twelve precious stones were the Urim and Thummim (Exo. 28:30). With the help of these two stones the high priest could find the will of God for any person in relation to any matter at any time (Num. 27:21). It has always been a mystery how these stones functioned. Apart from the high priest they could not be seen by anyone. They were the most important part of the garments of the high priest. During Old Testament times, they were the only means of finding God's will. That is why we find David constantly asking the high priest, Abiathar, to bring the ephod to find out God's will through the Urim and Thummim (1 Sam. 23:2,4,9,11).
When David was hiding in the cave of Adullam all who were in trouble and difficulties came to stay with him in that cave and it was there David found God by experience. While he was there David wrote Psalms 34,57, 107 and 108. There he learned the secret of finding God's plan. Even in small things David began to know the mind of God through the high priest who had the ephod with the two stones (1 Sam. 23:1-5,12). That privilege was available to all but only a few used to go to the high priest to find God's will. Often that is our condition. It is only when we make many mistakes and fail may times that we say, "O Lord, help me today to find Thy will." We ought to learn this lesson at the beginning.
The Lord Jesus Christ is our living High Priest. Now all of us can find God's will through Him. We have just to kneel down and pray with faith asking God to show us His will. If we remain very close to God's heart, we can easily find God's will even in small things. For instance, when we go for shopping we need not waste our time, and in the end be cheated by the shop-keepers as usually happens. If we would only pray, "Lord, I want to buy such and such things. Please take me to the right shop and do not allow me to waste my time, money and energy", He will undertake everything for us. There will be no need for us to waste time in bargaining and then to feel sorry for the loss we have incurred.
APRIL 15
"Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1).
To have strong faith in the Word of God and claim His promises is a mightly spiritual weapon. That is how early church prayed (Acts 4:23-31). They lost fear and doubt and prayed with strong faith in the Word of God and the promises which God gave to His people.
We have to hold on to all the precious promises given to us to encourage us. Then we can see God working in our midst according to His faithfulness, fulfilling the promises which are given to us. In Acts 4:23-31 the early believers believed in the greatness of God and claimed the promises which God gave to David (Acts 4:25). They believed that all that had happened was in fulfilment of the promises, and so they prayed, "Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word" (v.29). They did not wish their enemies any harm, but wanted the Lord to give them boldness before the people to preach Christ. When people oppose us, we need not think of taking revenge but claim boldness for the message to be given.
"Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) means pray for every matter with burden not occasionally but always, even for small matters. Before giving the word we can pray, "Now Lord, help me, touch my tongue, throat and lips." In an unconscious way we find our hearts crying to God even for small things.
Another spiritual weapon we find in Acts 12:5. Agonising prayer is a spiritual weapon; not just occasional prayer but travailing in prayer with burden. There are times when we have to pray with agony in our hearts for those who are suffering, through sickness or by any other means. Similarly, we read in Acts 13:2, "As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them". They prayed together to find God's perfect will and plan for them for the future ministry. It was a very important matter. They prayed through till God spoke definitely. We must agonise in prayer till we hear the voice of God for our personal matters as well as for ministry.
"And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them (Acts 16:25). In their agony, they did not wish their persecutors any harm or wrath of God. They began to sing praises and claimed salvation for those in the prison, including the jailor. They believed God had allowed that suffering in their lives to accomplish the work of salvation in the prison. Instead of praying for the wrath of God to fall upon their enemies they prayed for their salvation.
The devil may use any weapon against us, but the Lord Jesus Christ will defeat all his weapons. We as God's servants have to be extremely sensitive to all the devices of the enemy which he will use in the end days. It is to bring spiritual poverty among God's people and spiritual weakness among God's servants to prevent them from taking their full share in the inheritance of the saints in light. It is only by learning to use our spiritual weapons of warfare effectively that we can defeat the enemy fully.
APRIL 16
"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31).
Korah, Dathan and Abiram were leading men among their tribes. They were jealous of Moses and so they murmured against him. They wanted name, fame and power. That is the desire of every man in every country. He longs for authority and power over fellow-men, and so by every possible means he tries to have that. You find such men in the assemblies also. Some believers have a desire to become elders in the church. If they are not given that position they fight for it. Some fight with their tongues, and some with their angry looks. If you give them some authority, they are satisfied. That is human nature. In the days of Moses these three leading men, men of renown, gathered together about 250 princes. They must have been wise and familiar with the Word of God because they managed to get these princes on their side (Num. 16:2). The princes thought that these three men were more concerned about the welfare of people than Moses and Aaron. So they were deceived and turned on their side. They all organized rebellion against Moses and Aaron; men of God. As a result, they along with all their possessions were swallowed up. (Num. 16:32). Their sin was so great that God's judgment fell upon them immediately. Thus you find that much harm is done in families, among God's servants and churches through jealousy.
Most of our troubles in the family are due to someone's jealousy. Perhaps your brother is against you or your own sister is jealous of you. They wait for an opportunity to do some harm to you. Sometimes, in your office your colleagues become jealous of you, when you get promotion. Even in the ministry, if some servant of God is being used of the Lord, others become jealous of him. They think, "Why is So and So given to much importance" In which way is he better than I?" Thus through jealousy and suspicion, the enemy brings much harm. Jealousy is a great sin and God will judge that sin very severely.
Now those rebels also were saying, "In which way are Moses and Aaron better than we?" Perhaps they were more familiar with the Scriptures, and preached better than even Moses. Perhaps they were more popular and could speak well. So they were proud and thought that they knew more than Moses. That is what many people say even today, "In which way are you better than we? We also read the Bible. We know the Bible very well". They do have much Bible knowledge. They know every statement in the Bible about salvation. You cannot find any fault in their teaching but there is something lacking. Then the rebellious men also said, "Why do you say that you are the only persons whom God has chosen to lead? There are lakhs of people among us, but why only two should lead them? We too will bear the responsibility of leading them." They were fighting for leadership. You find the same thing going on in every country and much more among Christians. They have an ambition to have power, fame, name and leadership in assemblies. Korah and his company were judged very severely. Let us take a warning.
APRIL 17
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16).
On the third stone in the first row of the breast plate was the name of the tribe of Zebulun and this signifies the spiritual experience that will help us to draw nearer to the Lord. Zebulun means "Dwelling" (Gen. 30:20). My heart and my body must become His dwelling place. My home must become His dwelling place and my church must be His dwelling place. They go together. If we want to build the House of God, first of all our bodies must become the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16,17). Here is very solemn warning. If we want to take our share in the building of the House of God, we must keep our bodies clean and holy, fit to be God's dwelling place. We must keep our life also clean. Then the Holy Spirit can work in us and live in us freely. Otherwise He cannot accept our labours. Every time we defile ourselves by thought, word or deed, we can claim His precious blood for cleansing. Thus we can keep our whole life clean, pure and unspotted for His use.
In the same way our house must be His dwelling place. We read about a house in John Chapter 12. It is an outstanding house, a happy home where the Lord Jesus could live. Although there were many homes in Jerusalem, the Lord Jesus never stayed overnight there. He went back in the evening either to Bethany or to the mount of Olives. By His continual presence that home became a happy home. There the Lord Jesus Christ had become the living Head, not in word but in actual practice. The presence of Lazarus at the home in Bethany, as we read in John 12, speaks of the power of resurrection. We have to know as a family, how to claim the power of resurrection. The food speaks of the Word of God which we enjoy through fellowship. Martha speaks of joyful and loving service without murmuring and jealousy, and Mary speaks of full devotion, thanksgiving and praise. It is with all these we have a happy home where the Lord Jesus can live.