Editor’s Note

 

I greet you all in the matchless name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for the good harvest He has given us this year. I hope the Lord will use you all for His glory in bringing in a harvest of souls.

Lord says in the book ofEzekiel 22:30 – And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.Even today, the Lord’s eyes are searching for one man. Yes, His eyes are always searching eyes; He is seeking the lost sheep. He is seeking the lost silver coins.At the same time, to manifest His power and glory, His eyes are running throughout the whole earth, for He needs one man to stand in the gap and be a watchman.

On one side, sin and iniquities are increasing in this world. On the other side, our Lord is ready to show His anger and judgment. In this difficult situation in this world, to stop the destruction that is to come; our Lord is searching for a prayer warrior.

The Lord is seeking for a prayer warrior to stand in the gap and pray compassionately for His people.The Lord’s eyes are running throughout the earth to seek prayer warriors who will be able to stand in the gap for His people in every country.As only one spark is needed to set a forest on fire, similarly one prayer warrior is enough to set a country on spiritual fire. God’s eyes are looking for such a prayer warrior.

In the book of Ecclesiastes 9:14-15 -There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.We see about one poor wise man. A poor wise man’s prayers may be neglected by the people of this world; but the Lord will hear and definitely answer his zeal and heart’s desire in his prayers.Prophet Samuel says it’s a sin against the Lord if he doesn’t pray for the country and his people.

There are three requirements for a prayer warrior:

1. He has to stand in the gap between the people and the Lord.

2. He has to close the gap i.e. he has to stop the way of sin entering into his country, his congregation and his family.

3. He has to stand as an intercessor between the Lord and his people and pray for his people.

For this sake, the Lord is searching a man.

But the Lord says with sorrow in Isaiah 59:16 – And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him; and His righteousness, it sustained Him.

Man may be surprised with many things, but the Creator of heaven and earth is surprised that there is no man to intercede between God and man.

But our Almighty God says in Amos 9:11- In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

The apostles also prayed with similar zeal according to Acts 15:16 – After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: 

So my dear people, we should all stand as intercessors for our country, our congregation and our families. Then our Lord will be as in Zechariah 2:5 – For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.

My dearly beloved, I hope this message will enable you to renew yourselves in the Lord, to rededicate yourself to the Lord to be intercessors for many.

May the Lord bless you till we meet again.

Pastor Saroja M.

In the month of September I was suffering from high fever, due to which it was difficult for me to even get up and I couldn’t come for Sunday service.

My son informed Pastor Saroja about this matter and she assured him of her prayers. The next day my fever was totally gone and I felt better. After some time I felt I could not pass urine, I immediately called Pastor Saroja, informed her of this problem and she assured me of her prayers and advised me to drink lots of water. I followed her advice and the same day I started passing urine comfortably. I thank and give God all glory and praises for healing me. I also thank Pastor Saroja for her fervent prayers for me. Praise the Lord !

Sis. Natty Amanna, Ghatkopar

Our house in Mumbai was to be sold and I had requested Pastor Saroja to keep this matter in prayers. Within a month we got a good buyer and we did not have to include an agent too, in the sale process. Though there were complications in processing paper work, by God’s grace alone and our Pastor Saroja’s prayers, all the paper work too was completed in time and we sold the house successfully. I give all glory and honor to our Lord God for His wondrous work and thanks to Pastor Saroja for praying fervently for this. Praise the Lord!

Bro. Ramiah Daniel, Bangalore

I thank my Lord Jesus for giving me one more opportunity to thank and testify His wondrous work in my life.  

In the month of Aug’14 one morning while I was preparing to go to office suddenly I felt unusual and could not lift my right side body and my face too was twisted. I could not speak even though I was trying to. I immediately applied the prayer oil all over my body and also drank it. All glory and honor to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, within 10 minutes I became normal and was feeling okay. All glory to Lord Jesus Christ for healing me through the prayer oil and I also thank Pastor Saroja for praying over the oil and also always praying for me. Praise the Lord !

Bro. Ramesh Surti, Malad

Firstly I ask forgiveness for giving this testimony late.In the month of June my HSC results were declared and by God’s grace I secured good percentage. I had applied in 3 colleges for FY BMS course. In spite my good percentage I was not getting admission in these colleges. I requested Pastor Saroja to pray for my admission and she assured me of her prayers. To my great surprise, I got a call from one of the best college I had applied to and I immediately took my admissions. I give millions of thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ for His grace and mercy upon me and also want to thank Pastor Saroja who has always prayed for me and my family. Thank You Jesus, Praise the Lord!

Sis. Jackline Arikswamy, Jogeshwari (East)

I firstly ask forgiveness from my Lord Jesus for giving me this testimony late.

My son Joshua had high fever for 3 days and the fever was not receding. I called Pastor Saroja and requested her for prayers for my son. She assured us of her prayers and my son immediately became completely okay. I thank my Lord Jesus for healing my son also thank Pastor Saroja for her ceaseless prayers for me and my family. Praise the Lord !

Bro. Robert Francis, Goregaon (East)

I take this opportunity to thank Lord Jesus for His goodness in our lives.

My husband had a fall when riding his scooter and was injured. I applied prayer oil over his wounds. And the wounds were healed very soon. I praise and thank you God for His healing though the prayer oil and also thank Pastor Saroja for praying for the oil. Thank you Jesus & Praise the Lord !

Sis. Pushpaben Mistry, Kalgaun Bhilad

Praise the Lord!

Firstly sorry for this late testimony. 3 months ago I was suffering from very bad cough. One Saturday, after the healing prayer I informed Pastor Saroja of this. She prayed for me and from that day onwards I was healed from this bad cough. I give all glory to God and thanks to my Lord Jesus for healing me. Also thank Pastor Saroja for her fervent prayers.

Bro. Arikswamy Richardson, Goregoan (East)

In the month of September ’14 both my hands were swollen and it was also paining a lot. I was not able to lift anything. That night before sleeping, I applied the prayer oil. The next morning all swelling and pain had gone. I give all glory and thanks to my Lord Jesus for healing me through the prayer oil. Also thank Pastor Saroja for praying over the oil. Praise the Lord!

Sis. Esther Patel, Goregoan (East)

A Lesson From An Ant

Brenda was a young woman that wanted to learn to go rock climbing. Although she was scared to death she went with a group and they faced this tremendous cliff of rock. Practically perpendicular. In spite of her fear, she put on the gear and she took a hold of the rope and she started up the face of that rock. 

Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, whoever was holding the rope up at the top of the cliff made a mistake and snapped the rope against Brenda’s eye and knocked out her contact lens. 

You know how tiny contact lenses are and how almost impossible to find. Well, here she was on a rock ledge, with who know how many hundreds of feet behind and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping that she would be able to find that contact lens. Here she was, very far from home. Her sight was now blurry. She was very upset by the fact that she wouldn’t be anywhere near a place where she could get a new contact lens. And she prayed that the Lord would help her to find it. Well, her last hope was that perhaps when she got to the top of the cliff, one of the girls that was up there on the top might be able to find her contact lens in the corner of her eye. When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye. There was no contact lens to be found. She sat down with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to come up the face of the cliff.

with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to come up the face of the cliff.

She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of that Bible verse that says, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.” She thought, “Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every single stone and leaf that’s on those mountains and You know exactly where my contact lens is.”

Finally, the time came when it was time to go down. They walked down the trail to the bottom. Just as they got there, there was a new party of rock climbers coming along. As one of them started up the face of the cliff, she shouted out, “Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?”

Well, that would be startling enough, wouldn’t it? She had found the contact lens! But you know why she saw it? An ant was carrying that contact lens so that it was moving slowly across the face of the rock. 

What does that tell you about the God of the universe? Is He in charge of the tiniest things? Do ants matter to Him? Of course they do. He made them. He designed them. Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist. When she told him this incredible story, he drew a picture of that ant lugging that contact lens (as you see in the comics with a balloon with words in it over his head) with the words: “Lord, I don’t know why You want me to carry this thing. I can’t eat it and it’s awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I’ll carry it for You.” 

If God is in charge of the ants, don’t you think He cares about you and me? I guess Solomon was right. One could learn a valuable lesson from that ant — trust in God. We could probably all say a little more often, “God, I don’t know why you want me to carry this load. I see no good in it and it’s awfully heavy. Still, if you want me to, I’ll carry it for You.”

Pastor Saroja M.

Be righteous before God

1 Samuel 24:17 “And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.” King Saul was an enemy of David; he constantly planned how to capture and kill him. But in this verse, Saul testifies about David “Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.” Saul says that David is righteous because though he always thought evil for David, David thought only good for him. So here we see that the same Saul who thought evil for David and had only had one thing on mind i.e. to capture and kill him, is now forced to testify by the Lord God, of David in a wondrous way. From the beginning, we see that in human beings there is no goodness within them; they always want to return evil for evil and never want to do good for evil. But it is our Lord Jesus Christ who changed this thinking of human beings; He came into this world and loved those who hated him. Our righteous God, with His great love changed everything for mankind by loving those who hated Him. When we remain entwined with God, He will fight our every battle and make us righteous beings. David never looked at Saul as an enemy – he considered Saul as God’s anointed vessel.

1 Samuel 24:6 “And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.”Even though David had an opportunity to attack Saul when he captured him, yet he did not harm him physically but rather showed his anger by cutting the edge of Saul’s garment. However, after he committed this act, David’s heart was pained and he repented of his deed. 1 Samuel 24:5 “And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.”With this act of repentance, David became righteous before King Saul. Those who are with the Lord, their thoughts, deeds and action will always remain righteous. Only God’s anointed children can recognize the love of God and the strength of God. The people of this world cannot understand who the anointed children of God are; in turn the children of God can recognize the anointed ones of the Lord. Similarly, just as David recognized the anointing within Saul, in turn Saul also respected David and said “I always planned to capture and kill you, but you only thought good for me”. Thus David became righteous in the sight of King Saul.

The Old Testament records the life of another righteous man, Ishbosheth. The bible does not speak too much about this man who was a friend of Saul’s son Jonathan. 2 Samuel 3:7 “And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah : and Ishbosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father’s concubine.” Ishbosheth was a righteous man and he kept himself away from all sins and darkness’ of life. When we keep ourselves away from the sins of this world we stand righteous before God. Ishbosheth was a man who condemned sins and questioned Abner as to how he could commit such a sinful deed. In this verse we see that the righteous run away from sins whenever they are surrounded by it. They do not like to live in sin nor mix with sinners. This is a testimony of the righteousness of Ishbosheth.

Joseph and Mary were engaged to be married; they would have dreamed wonderful dreams of their life together. But suddenly an angel comes to Mary and tells her “You will bring forth a son by the Holy Spirit; he will be called Jesus and He will save the people from sins.” Mary was dumbstruck, she could say nothing and she gracefully accepted that God wished to use her womb to bring Jesus on this earth. Joseph was a righteous man and when he heard this he thought within himself that if this news is made known to the public, such was the ancient law according to Moses’ law that Mary would have to be stoned to death for such a sin. Women who committed adultery or were found with a child before marriage were stoned to death. However, Joseph a righteous man thought by himself that he should flee away from Mary and save himself and her from all the humiliation of people.Mathew 1:19 – “Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.” We see here that the righteous Joseph did not wish to hurt Mary or make public this news and to avoid all this humiliation for Mary, he decided to put her away secretly.

Mathew 1:20-21 “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she will bring forth a Son and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Yes, if it was an ordinary person his reaction to this situation would be different than what Joseph did; but Joseph being a righteous person, dealt with this situation differently to protect Mary from the wrath of the people. Mathew 1:24-25 “Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.”Joseph being righteous believed the angel of God and did as he was told to do. Thus he supported Mary till the child was born into this world. Here we see a great example of the deeds of a righteous man.

Joseph took care of Jesus after birth and was his earthly father who brought him up in this world. There are some people, who are righteous from the time they are children and lead a righteous life throughout their lives. There are others whom the Lord has touched and when they are washed with the blood of Jesus their lives are transformed. They confess their shortcomings and sins and thus become righteous. Some people become righteous through prayers. We will see another example of a righteous man in Luke 18:14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”This person’s name is not known; where he has come from is not known; but God heard his prayers and made him righteous. This man was a tax collector. His prayers alone made him righteous. Luke 18:13-14 “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.” This man was not known by his name, but by his profession as a tax collector. This sinner came into the Lords’ temple and did not have the guts to look up to God but in all humility, beating his chest he cried out to the merciful God to forgive his sins by claiming that he was a sinner. This is the prayer prayed with all humility that God hears and answers. Thus he became a righteous man in God’s sight. God gives us a chance in life too… to amend our ways, to redeem our sins with his precious blood and become a righteous and clean vessel for His glory. We may be sinners till the moment that we enter this Holy Temple as the robber on the cross of Calvary who asked for forgiveness at the end of his life and was forgiven and obtained deliverance from his sins. 

As David was anointed he recognized that Saul was also a good vessel of the Lord and he gave love to Saul, while Saul thought only evil for David. We have seen Ishbosheth a righteous man who condemned sin and kept himself away from the darkness of this world. Likewise, we also read about the tax collector who did not feel worthy to even lift up his eyes before God while praying for deliverance from his sins but God recognized his heart and he became righteous before God. Psalms 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” When we come before God with a broken spirit and a contrite heart, God forgives us. God is never far away from us. Remember, whenever we come into his Holy presence/temple, we must come in fear and humility. A Holy Temple is God’s dwelling place and this place is dreadful. 

Ecclesiastes 5:2 “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.” In God’s presence, our words must be few and truthful. When we pray, God’s ears are inclined to our prayers and God answers our prayers in His Holy Temple. We must always come in humility and fear before God.The tax collector was humble and came before God with great trembling and fear. With this fear, he could not even look up to God, but in humility while beating his chest he cried out to God. This is why God found the tax collector to be a righteous man.

We will now see Jacob’s experience with God in Genesis 28:16-17 “And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Jacob feared the presence of God and said that this place is dreadful i.e. awesome. He acknowledged that this place is the house of God and a gate of Heaven. God speaks to us in different ways; we must also acknowledge that the Holy Temple is an awesome dwelling place of God. Psalms 95:6 “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.”

When a hen lays eggs it has to incubate it so that chicks are given birth. It is due to the hen’s body heat that the eggs are warmed and hatch into chickens… the body is formed, nerves are formed and life is formed within the shell. Imagine what will happen if the hen does not incubate her eggs. Similarly it is only by God’s grace that our life is blessed. Hence when we worship our God it should be with great reverence that we should come before him, bowing down and kneeling before the ‘Lord our Maker’. Like the hen makes her chickens, God is our Maker. If Jesus would not have come into this world and given his life for us, today we would not have experienced this beautiful life in Christ. We must come before God with fear and humility, not with pride and ego. Today, whatever we are blessed with viz. good health, good life, etc. it is by God’s grace alone. It is not by any greatness and goodness of ours that we have a good life. God is always watching over us, our every prayer is answered and our every desire is fulfilled by Him. God has given us a very easy life to live and it is not at all difficult to follow His ways.

We see many righteous Josephs in the Holy Scriptures.

• In Arimathaea there was a righteous man named Joseph.

• In the Old Testament we see Jacob’s son Joseph, who was also a righteous man.

• Jesus’ father in this world was Joseph, a righteous man.

• The disciple chosen to replace Judas Iscariot after his death was also Joseph.

These are the many righteous Josephs in the bible. Acts 1:21-23 “Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.”Two persons were selected by the council to do the work of Judas – Joseph, also known as Barsabas and Matthias. In ancient times, Kings also would select many wise men in their council to advise them. There was a man named Joseph in the land of Arimathaea; he was righteous in all his deeds and he counseled a lot of people with his advise. This wise man was blessed by God, because we know that all divine counseling is God’s gift. All cannot counsel people. Only those who are blessed by God can counsel.

Psalms 32: 8 “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Divine advise comes only from God and is a blessing from God. Thus Joseph was a good counselor to men. Jesus Christ had this quality of counseling men as we see in Isaiah 11:2 “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.” Jesus was blessed with all these qualities in him – the spirit of counsel and might. This same spirit was found in Joseph of Arimathaea. He loved Jesus unconditionally. When the time came, this was the righteous man who came forward to claim Jesus’ body from Pontius Pilate.

There were multitudes who had heard Jesus preach the word. Jesus healed the broken hearted and set the captives free; He made the lame to walk and the blind to see. He gave deliverance to sinners. Yet, after his crucifixion there was none who came forward to claim him but Joseph of Arimathaea who loved Jesus dearly and came forward in boldness to claim Jesus’ body. Luke 23:52-53 “This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.  And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.” This righteous man did what many would not have the guts to do; but as he was a righteous man, he boldly claimed the body of Jesus Christ.   

In the Holy Scriptures, we have seen how righteous people have worked hard for the Lord. A righteous man will never let another man fall. As Joseph did not let Mary face the humiliation of man, but stood by her till the end and helped her successfully give birth to Jesus Christ, so have we seen Ishbosheth the righteous man who condemned sin. We have also seen the righteousness of Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a counselor and how he came before the authorities with boldness to claim the body of Jesus after he died. We have seen in the Holy Scriptures that God used righteous men to do His works in this world. Why can’t we become righteous and a blessed vessel for the Lord? When we fear God and love Him, we can surely be used by God for His glory. Luke 23:50-53 “And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just: (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.” When Jesus was in this world, the people were after him to find faults in him and to arrest him. At that time Joseph of Arimathaea kept himself away from all these men and when the time came he went to Pontius Pilate and claimed Jesus’ body. We have seen the people of this world… they were and are even today ungrateful, their hearts without gratitude. But we see how God has always lifted the righteous men in this world. We have read many examples of such righteous men. When we give our lives to God, He will surely counsel us and lift 

us up for His glory. We all know that when we eventually leave this world, we will go without taking anything with us – naked we have came and naked we will go. Then why do we spend our lives pursuing those things that we are going to leave behind in this world? Doesn’t God know about our needs and wants? From time to time He will fulfill all our needs, let us instead concentrate on becoming righteous for the Lord.

Another example of a righteous man we see is in Cornelius the centurion. All the people spoke about him and his righteousness and even Jesus found this Jew to be righteous. Acts 10:22 ^“And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.”We will read a little about his life in Acts 10:1-4 “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.” We have seen his entire household was righteous… the river of life started flowing from his household. Cornelius was a righteous man and did many good things for the men of God and also the Jews. Thus many received their saving grace though Cornelius’ household.

Today, we have read about the lives of many righteous men who feared the Lord and worked for His glory. God is good, his mercies and kindness’ are new every day. We have also seen God’s love in a new form viz. through righteous people.

Let us also try to be righteous in God’s sight.

May the Lord bless you! Praise the Lord!

 

Pastor Saroja M.