Dear Church,

Peace of Jesus Christ be with you all.

I greet you all in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

December is the month to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but many people, instead of rejoicing in the birth of the Lord, settle with the temporal pleasures of the world like buying a new dress, or enjoying good food, or exchanging gifts. But our joy is not temporal because the reason behind our joy is that though we go through a lot of difficult situations and limitations, Christmas reminds us that Christ is born in our hearts and He will lead us, strengthen us, and uphold us. So, as a church we wish you all a Happy Christmas and a Blessed New Year. May the good Lord help you to inherit this happiness which is kept for you and me through the victory at Calvary.

There are few more things that I want to talk about in this newsletter. As a church, we have been involved with many missions to uplift the life standards of people who are in need irrespective of their religion. To achieve this, we have started and are running various missions. We want you to be aware of these missions which I am listing below.

1. Church:
The two main reasons for failure in our lives are, a) We do not know what is meant by Church, and b) We do not know how to worship the Lord as a Church. To address these two issues, we started to form prayer cells and fellowships in 5 places, namely, Chennai, Tuticorin, Karivalamvathanullur, Kunichi, and Idayapatti. Through these fellowships we are helping people to experience true worship and are training them to be a church and to be a part of the church. We are not going to build buildings and call a place as Church. However, we need a group people who are willing to walk the extra mile, love the truth, and trust the Lord, thereby, worshipping the true Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our aim is to establish the Church and form Church leaders by imparting these values to the fellowship.

2. Functioning of a Trust:
Selflessness is the main principle to become a worker to establish the kingdom of God. Many are struggling to be active persons in the Kingdom of God due to administrative and spiritual reasons. As a church, we help these people by providing the space and resources they need to establish the Kingdom of God in their own way and by using their talents. Through this, we help to preserve their individuality but still function together being united by the common goal. To achieve this, we unite the few who are all anointed with same mission and are willing to carry out their call through the path allotted to them under the Trust. Due to this, we are able to unite and put all our efforts together towards the Kingdom of God. So kindly pray for the mission of the Trust.

3. E-Communication:
Sharing the gospel in person was not possible in many situations. To overcome this hinderance, we are trying to reach people through our website, podcast, newsletter, books, and online Bible studies. This is very useful in cases where people are not able to have a fellowship in a dedicated space. To run this mission effectively, we need volunteers to help us with various tasks like taking notes, typing them, organizing our material, translations, and for many other purposes. We encourage those who are interested to kindly contact us, and we will help you to be a part of this mission.

4. Rehabilitation:
“Let each of you look out not only for his own interests.”, is one of the foundational principles of the Bible. To achieve this goal, we started rehabilitation work by teaching English to those who lack the proficiency and creating connections and opportunities to study for the deserving students and helping people find right resources to lead their God filled life. We also train, equip, and help the underprivileged people in society so that they can be placed appropriately in their personal and professional life to become self-sufficient and productive in their family and society. Apart from education, we help the impoverished people to be self-dependent and find their own support system through farming, providing livestock, and other means.

5. Medical:
Medical facilities are numerous, but it has not reached many parts of the society. Therefore, in order to help the sick, we render medical counsel and resources and help them in their recovery.

I am sharing this with you so that you can join us in our mission. There are many people who want to help others but are crippled by their limitations. We can be a help for you to overcome your limitations and enable you to fulfil your call.

Also, this year, we printed calendars in English for distribution. We encourage those who would like to obtain a copy to kindly contact us.

In this newsletter, we are going to deal with the second point under the topic, Chaos, that we started last month. We discussed that the main weapon for chaos is deception. Today we will se how to handle deception so that we can overcome chaos.

Antidote for Deception:
Many countries are struggling with many kinds of problems like financial issues, insecurity, and so on. On an official level, they have their own reasons for that, but the real issue is that we are far from the way of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. For example, in Genesis 41:57: So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands. One man was able to understand the problem which the country was going to face and to deduce the solution for that. This did not come from prayer and reading the Bible alone, it needed more than that. Joseph was able to understand what is meant by fear of God. This fear of God gave him good understanding, and this understanding led him to help all the countries overcome their famine. One of the important duties of those who are led by the Holy Spirit is to use their spiritual resources so that the world can overcome their famine. This is the most important mode of preaching the Gospel and in this the Church has failed; therefore, in a way, we are also responsible for the current global situations. Instead of being a light to the world, we set a bad example by being self-centered and thinking about our lives alone. To explain this better, I am going to shed some light on the life and ministry of the following two people.

Joseph and Rev. William Carey:
Truth is the only way of life and a solution for every problem that we face. If we have any other problems or hinderances except for growing in the fear of God, it means that we have already deviated from the truth. Truth and Love of God cannot be separated. In this, I want to introduce two examples to you. One is from the Bible. He is from the book of Genesis and was a Saviour for the people, called Joseph. Though this person’s life was before Jesus Christ, still he followed His footsteps. The other person is, Rev. William Carey, who did great work and ministry for us, Indians, and improved our life standards. I think it is important to find the similarities between these two characters in order to understand the antidote for deception. The similarities between both are a). They were not religious b). They brought salvation to others’ lives. And c). Both had a common enemy. These are the three important steps which we are going to discuss through which we are going to find the truth. By understanding this truth, we can come to know how to overcome deception.

a. Not Being Religious:
When you see the similarities in these two great personalities, one of the prominent characters that we can find in them is they did not work for their glory but for the Kingdom of God. Today Christianity is commercialized by satan. Lot of advertising has come in and most of the sermons are preached to entertain the audience, but these two saints allowed the Gospel to spread through their works and not through their words alone. To make others’ lives better, they had to make huge sacrifices. They left their language, culture, and country behind to follow God’s purpose. Having patriotism is a good thing but these two people went beyond that and helped the people who did not deserve any kind of love. Jesus Christ was crucified only by the religious people, and ironically, according to the plan of God, sinners will be saved but not the religious. Religious people will not worship our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, alone but they will worship other gods like status, self-righteousness, pride, comfort, luxury, tradition, caste, etc., and these will be their idols.

So, who are religious according to the Bible? They are followers of the law but who have lost the purpose of the law. In 1 Timothy 1: 5 – 11 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. 8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.  We clearly see the purpose of the law explained above. The two servants of God we talked about did not follow the law but loved their God using the law and showed the whole world who the Saviour is by rescuing the world by using the God given spirituals gifts. Dear brothers and sisters, if you really want chaos to end in your lives, you should be delivered from the religious system.

b. Message of Salvation:
The deception of the modern-day Christianity is, the Gospel is preached through words and not with life deeds. Both the Children of God whom I mentioned above, used their gifts to help others to have a better life. They did not judge or curse others but proved to the world the importance of their spiritual gifts. In the Bible, Jesus Christ clearly says that our light should shine before others so that they can be blessed. A person who only thinks about their life, their children, and their pain has no part in the Kingdom of God. In many places, I use the term ‘Kingdom of God’. If you understand this phrase in the right way, it will help you to find answers for our chaos. In Psalms 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.This verse makes it very clear that we are living inside God’s providence. So, it is our choice to either be grateful or to keep on murmuring. Which one would be ours? Jesus Christ came to this world to save the sinners. This is the good news. So, anyone who is in the providence of God has the moral responsibility and accountability to make others’ lives better through their spiritual experience. You may have gone through some difficult times and found out that God is there to preserve you. If you realised this, then you have to be a help to others to find the message of salvation. The above-mentioned servants of God were true resources of hope for people who were lost in their problems. If you are not a resource for others’ lives to be better, then you are not a part of the mission of God; therefore, you are counted as unworthy in the Kingdom of God or as a tree bearing bitter fruit which is kept for fire and destruction. It is important to know that by preaching the message of salvation through your life not only makes others’ life better, but also this mission will heal you and protect you, and I am a living witness for this. Whenever I was busy with helping others towards a better life my life was easy and joyful but whenever I tried to relax from the mission of helping others, all the unwanted disturbances came in and destroyed my life. This is the exact command of Jesus Christ in Mark 12:31 And the second, like it is this: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. So, keep on doing the good work by making others’ lives better.

c. Common Enemy:
I would like to ask you a question. Who do you think killed Jesus Christ? Was he killed by people who did not know the name of Christ or by the people who were not able to see Him as the Christ? In many situations, especially in the marriage life, many people’s lives are blinded by their religiosity. For example, the rich young ruler was a perfect person in the eyes of the people till Jesus Christ exposed his other side which was not very beautiful. Many people make a choice to be perfect before others according to worldly standards but fail in God’s. Rev. William Carey was actually opposed by the Christian missionaries themselves and not by people of other religions. Many people think non-Christians are the enemies for the Kingdom of God; but certainly not. They have not experienced the love of God. Once His kindness and love are revealed to them, for sure, they will change; but Christians who think they alone are right without even trying to find others’ opinion are the real enemies. In Joseph’s life, his own family could not accept his growth. Likewise, many parents are filled with jealousy that their children are doing better than them. So many families are not supporting their children’s visions. However, these two characters were willing to give up their families and comfort zone for the vision and the call that they received from God. They did not allow the religious people to discourage them.
There is a great difference between correction and judgment. Religious people will judge and break your spirit, but spirituals will help you find what is going wrong through which your salvation will be perfected. Many religious people assume the job of the accuser, but God never did that. He made people to realise their mistakes through His love and compassion. For example, in the Old Testament, when Cain was about to sin, God showed him where he is going wrong and gave a counsel to do it in a better way. On the contrary, the Pharisees and Sadducees could not convince anyone that Jesus Christ was wrong or show where He went wrong, but all they wanted was His death. Similarly, religious people or religiosity will accuse you without explaining what is wrong and will expect you to change without listening to your pains. They will think they are the ones who know everything, and they will threaten you by saying you are against God and that is why you are struggling and will keep you in this loop and eventually will make you stop listening to God and force you to listen to them. You can see all these qualities in the life of Job’s three friends.

d. Beware:
Finding the Antidote for the chaos depends upon your resistance. Unless you resist your enemy, you cannot expect the victory. Bible clearly tells us that the horse is prepared for the battle. Likewise, we need to be trained and we should take up the mission to resist the cunningness of the religious system and people. Otherwise, we will pay for the consequences. In my younger days, I hoped that truth will come to light one day, and I will see the victory and I waited for it, but nothing happened. On the other hand, God trained me to fight against this enemy like Jesus Christ, which means that we have to overcome the evil with good. In many situations, I saw partiality in my life. Our family was not treated in the same way as the others, but we never fought about it. But a day came when people who mistreated us came to our door for help. If you are mistreated and neglected, for sure God is removing your comfort zone from you, but do not be discouraged when this happens because it actually means that you are being prepared for victory. Gain the strength in the Lord and go forward. Jesus Christ was alone but gained His strength at Gethsemane and fought against the evil on the cross by doing good. Though He was persecuted for doing good, yet he did not give up His character of doing good to others. On the cross also He prayed for those who persecuted Him. The most difficult thing in the whole world is being crucified by your own people. I saw the struggle of my father with my own eyes when he was discouraged by a lot of people who were close to him. There was a time when he even decided to give up the gifts he received from God, but he persisted and did not deviate from his call. Now, he is reaping the reward for all the hard work. When you are left alone in the wilderness it is the time for celebration because the joy of salvation is near you.
The best way to fight against these enemies was clearly explained by Apostle Paul in Romans 12th Chapter, verses 9 – 21: 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. 17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The above-mentioned passage clearly gives the checklist for the victory and certainly you are going to taste the victory. Lawlessness in the battlefield is the only thing which can deny your victory. Unless you are lawless, victory is yours. The worldly system has a method of fighting the battle. The devil also has his system. However, these systems failed on the cross and way of Jesus Christ is the only system which guaranties the victory because He is the victory.

So dear brothers and sisters, kindly allow the wrath of God to destroy your enemies. By fighting in your flesh do not make them strong enough to destroy many. Every person who was persecuted by religion or religiosity has a moral responsibility to fight against this enemy so that the Kingdom of God can be established on this earth.

May God bless and preserve you and your family in the new year. Be a blessing to others so that His Kingdom be established.

God be with you all.