Letters From India
Rise and Expansion of the Christian Church
In India
Introduction
This booklet began as an e-mail correspondence between two friends. Michael and Sangat were Bible school classmates in the United States during the early 1980’s.
Both went separate ways, Michael a businessman in Virginia and Sangat an evangelist in India. The friendship was renewed
a year ago and grew as Sangat shared with Michael about his Christian home fellowship ministry in India.
Gospel of power
These letters record the growth of a Christian church based solely on the power resident
in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the calling card of signs, miracles and
wonders that most of us have never seen but have only read about in the pages of our Bibles between the Gospel of John and
the Epistle to the Romans. This is the story of a 21st century Book
of Acts. Without radio, television or relentless appeals for partnerships and
funds, this ministry is changing lives from the teeming streets of Delhi to the mountain villages of the Himalayas and the plains of south
India. Hindus, Sikhs and
Muslims are responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ because of its power to heal, raise the dead, cast out devil spirits,
and meet the basic needs of daily life are never guaranteed.
Family construction business
In these pages, you will meet Sangat Bains, born of an Indian father and a Japanese
mother. Sangat was raised in Japan and India, but it was at a college in the United States where Jesus Christ changed his life and future. This is not
the account of an individual but of a family construction business:
Jesus Christ is the foreman and God the sole proprietor. In these pages, you will meet fellow laborers—Bhupinder, Gulab Singh, Gopal, Shanti, the unforgettable
Mohan Lal, and many other members in God’s family construction crew.
Sum of all teaching
Look Only To God, is the basic message that Sangat has been teaching in India since his arrival in the early 1980s. In many ways it is the sum of
all teachings in that trust in God and God alone is the desired end result of all biblical activity be it bible study, prayer
or church attendance. The joy and charm of this study is its simplicity. The reader will feel his ability to look to and trust
God grow, with each turn of the page.
The
Amazing Testimony of Mohan Lal Sharma
Hi Michael,
God bless you, Marsha, your children and the believers abundantly.
The following are testimonies and principles on how people
receive deliverance from God. You will see that it is done by declaring the absoluteness of the Word of God and His wonderful
works. This certainly inspires many to have faith to receive deliverance, be saved, and to come to an accurate knowledge of
God.
I visited Mohan Lal Sharma at Ashok Vihar, Delhi,
with Ashish and Rajan this Sunday
October 12, 2003. We went to hear how God’s Word was spreading in his
hometown, Adhiaksh, in the Amethi district, about 500 miles east of Delhi. In the past nine-month period, as he injured his leg, for the recovery he went back
to his home.
Mohan Lal became a Christian about a year and half ago and
as far as knowledge of the Word of God is concerned, he did not know much. While
he was in Delhi, he was busy with work and did not attend any Bible classes, but he was faithful in
attending fellowships. Mohan Lal knew the basic Truth that God is able to answer prayers and the importance of sharing his
testimony of what God did for him and that God can do the same for them.
Broken leg opens doors of utterance
About nine months ago, Mohan Lal suffered a broken leg in an auto accident. He returned to his hometown, Alam, to heal. He walked quickly,
believing God would heal him as he walked.
One day, while he was walking in the market of his hometown,
a Muslim acquaintance, Alam, about 35 years old (same age as Mohan Lal), a businessman and a leader of Muslim community; saw
him and called him to come to his shop. Alam asked him how he could walk so quickly
since he had only recently broken his leg. Alam had also been in an accident a long time before Mohan Lal and suffered a leg
injury. Alam was curious since he still had serious pains in his knees.
Mohan Lal then
told him that God healed his leg. He was able to walk so quickly because that he had made his request known to God with thanksgiving.
He told Alam that if he wanted to walk, then he too should pray to the True God and he would be walking right away.
The next day Mohan Lal saw Alam walking nearby his house so
he called him and asked him why he was walking. (God had already shown Mohan Lal that Alam had been healed.) Alam explained
to him that he did exactly what Mohan Lal told him to do, that is, to make his desire known to God with faith and thanksgiving
that God has heard his prayer. He said that immediately after he had spoken to
God, the pain in his knee vanished, and he was able to walk.
300 Muslims and 200 Hindus converted
Alam then began to give his testimony to his many Muslim friends.
Today about 300 Muslims are attending Mohan Lal’s fellowship, in addition to 200 or so Hindus; daily the number is increasing.
I asked Mohan Lal what he did in his fellowship since he was
a new believer and while in Delhi, he did not conduct his own fellowship, even though he witnessed to people a lot. He said that he had fellowship daily in his home which is a big one and able to accommodate
a large number of people. He said that he began his fellowship with prayer and
a time for sharing of testimonies. The sharing lasted over an hour since many people had testimonies of deliverance or answers
to prayer from God. We too had a time of sharing of testimonies during our fellowships here in Delhi
and Mohan Lal incorporated that into his fellowship.
I believe declaring God’s great works to others and praising
Him during fellowship is one of the great keys for God to add people to the fellowship.
Acts 2:47
Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And
the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Sharing the great works and deliverance from God and giving glory to God is our
praise to Him, and this inspires people to believe Him. It shows people that indeed God is able.
The power of Absolute Truth
After sharing of testimonies, Mohan Lal would teach the simple Word
of God that he knew which is: Our God is able. Nothing is impossible for God to do for people. We are to make requests
to Him with thanksgiving and with faith. We shall absolutely receive the answer to our prayers.
He really believes these, and so he taught these Absolute Truths with all boldness to the
believers in his fellowship. Mohan Lal would then close his fellowship. At the time he did not know how to speak in
tongues, interpret or prophecy. But he did know he could heal the sick and cast out devil spirits, and he did know God would give
him knowledge and wisdom. Yesterday I led Mohan Lal into speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues and prophecy. I showed him how simple it was operate these manifestations, so that he could do the
same for the believers in his hometown.
Signs, miracles and wonders
One day during a fellowship, a high-ranking police official from the district came
to his house accompanied by his security men and several vehicles. The saints did not know why the police force came
to the house. Some said they came to arrest Mohan Lal for conducting religious
activities. Mohan Lal is a man with courage and boldness, and he told his nephew,
Bhola, to go to the entrance gate of the house and not to let the police officer to enter.
He instructed Bhola to ask him why
he came to his house. Bhola stopped the police officer at the gate and asked
the nature of his visit. The officer said he came to see Mohan Lal and that this was a personal and not an official visit.
He said his eighteen-year- old daughter was blind. He had heard from someone that Mohan Lal could heal the sick. Bhola, who is seventeen years old, said to the high-ranking police officer that if he desired deliverance
from the True God, then he had to be humble. He should take off his uniform, which manifested the pride of man-given power
and authority. The officer immediately returned to his car and changed into simple
clothes and entered Mohan Lal’s house with his daughter.
Blind girl instantly healed
Mohan Lal said to the officer that his daughter would immediately
recover her sight if he believed that God could do this. The man said he believed
that God could recover his daughter’s blindness. Then
Mohan Lal asked his daughter
how many fingers she saw while having his hand opened with his five fingers. She
said five. Then her father, the high-ranking police officer, gave thanks to God. Mohan Lal told her to tell the color of his clothes; she said the correct color. Since this time, the police officer has become a regular
member of the fellowship. He too has given testimony to many of the great deliverance and the wonderful work that the True
God did for his beloved daughter.
Chief voodoo magician believes
One of the greatest voodoo magicians in his area who cast spells,
(that is, to send a devil spirit to harm people by receiving payment from his clients) also began to attend Mohan Lal’s
fellowship because he understood how the power that Mohan Lal demonstrated was greater than his own spells. He had placed a spell on Mohan Lal and not only did it not work but the devil spirit
involved returned and attacked the voodoo chief. This made a great impact on his community and
many attended Mohan Lal’s fellowship.
Voodoo priests kill: True God restores
life
A newly married girl, about twenty, who lived near Mahan Lal’s home had a problem with fits. The family invited voodoo priests to their house to cure her. During the exorcising ritual the priests beat the girl on the back to drive out the evil
spirits. During the violent beating, the girl fell to the ground and died. When
the family realized that the girl was dead, they beat their chests and howled in extreme anguish and sorrow.
Mohan Lal heard the commotion and as he entered the house, he saw many in anguish
and beating their chests, showing their
extreme sorrow. Mohan
Lal, before entering further, prayed to God that He would give him the boldness and strength to raise the girl from the dead. He confronted the voodoo priests, saying that they worked for wickedness and their curses
had taken life, but His God would restore life. God inspired him to put his hand upon the dead girl’s head and as he
touched her, she began to
breathe. All who saw the girl restored to life were
amazed, and the voodoo priests immediately fled from the house. Now this family
and the girl attend the daily fellowship at Mohan Lal’s home.
The Word of God and nothing but the Word of God
Mohan Lal told me that they wished me to visit his hometown
to meet the believers. I too wish to visit them and teach and guide them so that
they may be strengthened and established in the faith and that the Word of God grows mightily in his area and surrounding
areas. I continue to see the importance of keeping teachings simple. It is the wonderful truth and simplicity of the Word of God that inspires people to have faith in God. It is helpful for believers to see that God is indeed able to deliver them from any
situation. This is why it is important to have a time of sharing of testimonies of what our wonderful God has done. This builds
our believing and inspires believing in others.
There are many verses regarding speaking the wonderful
works and deliverance He makes available to us, but the following are some of them:
I Chronicles 16:24-29
Declare his glory
among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations. For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.
For
all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
Glory and honour are
in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
Give unto the LORD, ye kindreds of the people, give unto
the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name:
bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty
of holiness.
Psalms 9:11
Sing praises to the LORD,
which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
Psalms 66:16
Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
Psalms 73:28
But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.
Psalms 107:22
And let them sacrifice the
sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
Andhera
Pradesh and Peddapuram Visits to Strengthen the Saints and Establish Home Fellowships
I left Delhi
station at 8:30pm 27th